Troglodyte (Rochemenier)

I am staying in Tours and would like to do a trip to Château de Chenonceaux,Chateau in Amboise and Clos Luce in one day. I saw a review for Troglodyte (Rochemenier)and was wondering if it is worth seeing this and can it be done in the same day. Also where exactly is it?

Thanks.

|||

Due to Rochemenier being in the opposite direction of most of your other destinations , I don%26#39;t think you%26#39;ll be doing all this in one day. I haven%26#39;t been there , but according to www.troglodyte.info , Rochemenier is in the Anjou area , northwest of Tours. It is catagorized as a restored ancient farming village with caves carved into the ground (as opposed to the more common , but still ancient , cliff dwellings around the Loire and the Dordogne).

I too am fascinated with troglodyte dwellings and they can very often be seen along road and cliffsides near Amboise (among many other locations) with more modern dwellings attached to the entries (but still connected to the caves). Not to mention the very ancient (and numerous) Neanderthal troglodyte caves of the Vezeer Valley in the Dordogne , I stumbled onto a very interesting complex of partially restored 3 story troglodyte caves carved into the cliffsides behind the Hotel Manoir les Minimes , just below the castle at Amboise. The owners of the Manoir didn%26#39;t seem to mind that we walked thru the parking area , up the hill and went into the caves , unescorted. To the contrary (and even though we weren%26#39;t staying there) , a gentleman was about to lock-up the caves for the night but kindly left them open a little longer for us to see. They were are fascinating feats of engineering .

Anyway, the rest of your agenda is a good one , including Chenonceaux. If you can work it in (extra day?) , the incredibly large and impressive Chateau Chambord is really something to behold.

|||

Thank you.

|||

The troglodyte dwellings at Rochmenier are indeed worth visiting, but more so is the fantastic restaurant there. Local delicacies are served there daily, and the prices are extremely good value for money. You have to try the fouée, with champignon, or rillettes, or fromage de chevre et confiture!

You will not regret it.

|||

-:- Message from TripAdvisor staff -:-

This topic was inactive for 6 months and has been closed to new posts. We hope you'll join the conversation by posting to an open topic or starting a new one.

To review the TripAdvisor Forums Posting Guidelines, please follow this link: http://www.tripadvisor.com/pages/forums_posting_guidelines.html

We remove posts that do not follow our posting guidelines, and we reserve the right to remove any post for any reason.

Removed on: 5:20 pm, September 18, 2009