Orléans Day Trip from Paris – Orléans Private Tour
Spend the day in Orléans with your own private guide who will specifically wait for you in the morning in the Orléans train station. You arrive from Paris by morning train and leave by an evening one. Orléans the capital of the Centre-Val de Loire region is also the closest point of the Loire Valley to Paris at only 115 km and approximately one hour by regional train. Come for a mini city break in Orléans and discover a key city in French history that just had its historical center brilliantly renovated. A must to visit.
Visit Orléans: Joan of Arc sculpture by Royal Princess Marie d’Orléans – just behind on the left is a Renaissance’s caryatide © Broaden Horizons.
Full day private walking tour in Orléans Loire Valley
- +/- 7 to 8-hour walking tour in English
- Distance covered: usually +/- 5.5 km (without museum galleries)
- From 220 € for 1 to 2 people, 250 € for 3, etc.
- Really private tour (your party only 6 people max.)
- Not available on Saturdays, Sundays & Mondays
- Postgraduate (MPhil) certified French national guide
Exclusions: Train tickets (+/- 40 € per Paris-Orléans round trip ticket); Fine Art Museum (6 € per ticket); food; drinks. Tour includes guiding services only.
Organization: tour starts in the morning at Orléans central train station and ends +/- 7 to 8 hours later to the same train station or close to it.
KNOW MORE / BOOK NOW
What is the tour about?
History
Loire Valley
Joan of Arc
Renaissance
Arts
Architecture
Highlights
Hôtel Groslot Mansion
Cathedral Sainte-Croix
Loire River Banks
Timber houses
Orléans Fine Arts Museum
Belle époque République Street
Campo Santo
18th-century Royal Street
Neoclassic Jeanne d’Arc Street
Art Deco District
Why Visit Orléans
Orléans, France is a famous city that is key in French history. A lot of places in the world have been named after it, first and foremost New Orleans, Louisiana in the USA.
Orléans being the closest Loire Valley point from Paris (+/- 115 km) it is an ideal destination to have a first insight of the atmosphere of this famous French region.
Its architectural diversity, its exceptional cathedral and Renaissance heritage, its Loire banks, and the nature very present all around make of Orléans, the city of Joan of Arc, an ideal weekend or city-break destination.
Orléans’ s rich heritage is officially recognized. The city is:
- part of the UNESCO World Heritage Listed Loire Valley ;
- classified as « ville d’art et d’histoire » (VAH city of art and history heritage label).
Orléans also owns one of the French most reputed museums of fine arts.
What ‘s in the tour?
The tour is before all a city walk in the historical center of Orléans to discover its rich history and architecture. Orléans is first known for its impressive Renaissance heritage but has also a lot to show about the Middle Ages, French Baroque, Neoclassical, Belle-époque, etc.
Joan of Arc to whom Orléans has a special devotion (the battle she won there in 1429 was a turning point in European history) and the Loire river banks are also important milestones of the tour.
The tour normally includes a visit to the cathedral and the hôtel Groslot (Renaissance).
It is also advised to keep time for the Museum of Fine Arts (Correge, Carache, Velazques, Van Dyck, Le Nain Brothers, Rigault, de la Tour, Chardin, Corot, Gaugin, etc.).
A one-hour lunch break is planned at midday (no lunch cost neither organization included)
The equilibrium between all these elements being function of your wishes (tell your guide at the beginning of the tour) and of the weather the day of the tour as of any other contingencies we may have to deal with.
Your Private Tour Guide in Orléans
Certified French national guide.
Centre-Loire Valley Region accreditation (VAH).
BA, Magna cum laude, Heritage Developpement & Preservation at Conservatoire des Arts et Métiers.
Postgraduate (MPhil) from Paris Dauphine-PSL University.
Example of a typical “full day” tour in Orléans
The program presented below with theoretical schedule is noncontractual and for product comprehension only. As written before our guide will do its best to adjust the tour to your wishes but practically the tour may be impacted by a multitude of contingencies in function of which it will have to be adapted. The train schedule given there is an example from November 2021. See the booking section for updated exact train schedules.
Beginning of the tour
Belle époque at République Street
Art nouveau, Nancy School, Beaux Art style etc. + WWII reconstruction : Modernismo.
Place du Martroi
Where is the famous Orléans Joan of Arc Statue
D'Escures 17e century Mansions
Hôtel Groslot Renaissance Mansion
This is where died king Francis II of France
Cathedral Sainte-Croix
The huge gothic cathedral is exceptional for multiple reasons
City oldest part - Timbered houses
Oldest timbered house is from 1392
Lunch Break close to River Loire Bank
18e & 19e century neoclassical city
Rue Royal & rue Jeanne d’Arc + more Renaissance and half-timbered houses
Orléans Museum of fine Arts
One of the most important in France outside of Paris
Lot to see on the way back
More Renaissance, Neoclassic, Belle époque & Art déco.
End of the tour
18.25PM train departure for Paris – arrival in Paris-Austerlitz at 19.23PM
Things to know before Booking
Meeting Point
Orléans Central station at the arrival of your train from Paris.
Access: Departure of your train from Paris-Austerlitz train Station
Attention Points
- Tour is on foot.
- Prices do not include transportation, food, drinks, museum tickets or any other extra services.
- Museum tickets: To be purchased on site (6 € per ticket).
- Tour duration & content are purely indicative, they may vary due to contingencies.
- Entrance in churches is never warranted, neither in any museum or monument
Book Your Orléans “Full Day” Tour
The tour is design to work, with the two next trains. For sure for you can decide to take a later train for the way back if you wish. The time schedule of the trains below is an example as the schedule is not exactly the same every day (they are few minutes variations between them from one day to another).
- Morning train: Paris-Austerlitz to Orléans TER n°14037 – Typical schedule: departure 8.26AM arrival 9.32AM.
- Evening train: Orléans to Paris-Austerlitz TER n°14072 – Typical schedule: departure 18.24PM arrival 19.23PM
So if you want this tour, check first in our calendar (BOOKING NOW button) if there is an open slot for the day you want. If yes, then go to the train company OUI SNCF web site and check if corresponding trains are available. If yes, then request your tour via the “BOOKING NOW” Button and then follow the easy 4 steps booking process below.
(1) Receive our OK email (free reservation valid 48 hours)
(2) Buy your train tickets on line (compatible schedule)
(3) Once you have your ticket pay your tour on line
(4) Receive our
confirmation (email)
Nota bene – Warning: Step (1) answer may sometimes be no! So never buy your train tickets before receiving our step (1) confirmation. Step (1) free reservation is lost if no step (3) payment is received after 48h.
Orléans "full-day" walking tour
Extended tour (7 to 8-hours)For 1 to 2 people + 30 € for any extra person
A group of maximum 6 people exclusively yours
Tickets not included
English language
Visit Orléans: Traditional boats on the Loire River during the Loire Festival each 2 years in September © Broaden Horizons.
Visit Orléans: hôtel des Créneaux this former Orléans city hall is an emblematic monument of the transition between the Gothic and Renaissance periods. © Broaden Horizons.