School Trips to the Loire Valley

Cultural & Transition Year

Popular visits in the Loire Valley for cultural and Transition Year groups include a trip to one of the many historic sites here, including Chambord, Orléans, and the medieval city of Chartres with its world famous cathedral.

During your trip to the region, NST can tailor your itinerary to include Futuroscope theme park – a popular and fun visit that your pupils will love! The loire is an ideal destination for a transition year trip, enrichment week, a cultural tour or a group bonding and reward trip.

Learn more about our cultural & transition year trips to the Loire Valley here

French Language

A French language school trip to the Loire Valley allows teachers to fully immerse their students in French culture and language.

Learn more about our French language trips to the Loire Valley here

Primary

This diverse region of France is an ideal destination for a group tour. Known as ‘the Garden of France’, the Loire Valley is home to many cultural and educational visits for language groups.

Learn more about our primary trips to the Loire Valley here

Futuroscope

A theme park that’s been designed with fun and education in mind - and it’s one of France’s most visited attractions. Packed with content, the park offers a wealth of ideas so you can develop your educational projects around your visit. 

Aquarium du Val de Loire

Study the diversity of the Loire’s aquatic life and touch the fish in the 15 metre tactile pool!

Châteaux of the Loire Valley

There are a wide number of châteaux along the Loire Valley each providing an insight into French history and tradition, whilst also providing spectacular scenery and architecture. The most popular ones are: Château de Chenonceau, Château de Blois, Château Montrichard and Château d’Amboise.

Patisserie Chocolaterie Bigot

Tour of the chocolaterie including hot chocolate tasting.

Puy du Fou Theme Park

Puy du Fou offers a multitude of great shows and adventures to entertain and excite students. The park doesn't have rides, however, offers spectacular history extravaganza shows where actors and animals recreate high drama, from Roman gladiators to King Arthur, with mind-blowing special effects. In 50 hectares of forest and gardens, there are reconstructed historic villages, including a medieval settlement and an 18th-century farm, where you can go into houses and watch artisans at work.

Loches

Situated on the banks of the Indre, this small town is a gem of historical and architectural interest. Dominated by the medieval city enclosed within impressive ramparts it is also home to a number of visits where students can practise their language skills, including: Vignemont Cave Dwellers Quarry, Château Loche and Confiserie Hallard Sweet Factory.

Amboise

Groups can spend a day exploring this fascinating town. The Château du Clos Lucé is a must-see; it was Leonardo da Vinci’s last home and is now a museum dedicated to him. Le Petit Train is an ideal way to see the town and the Aquarium du Val de Loire and Bigot Patisserie Chocolaterie are other highlights.

Saumur

This small town has a number of exciting attractions for groups, many of them based around the town’s wine and food industries. Highlights include: Musée du Champignon, Gratien & Meyer Sparkling Wine Caves and the National Riding School.

Tour planning service

With NST, you’ll get your own dedicated, knowledgeable Tour Co-ordinator who’ll work with you from start to finish. You’ll benefit from their unrivalled destination knowledge, and their experience gained from working with many other groups too. They’ll tailor-make your itinerary from scratch and take care of everything for you: 

• Pulling together an itinerary that runs smoothly 
• Planning the right balance of visits every day with realistic timings 
• Pre-arranging and pre-booking your visits, entrance tickets, passes and meals 

You’ll receive your final itinerary a full 4-weeks before you travel too.

Free school trip promotion pack

We’ll support you and provide everything you need to advertise your school trip around school and to parents. Our free school trip promotion pack consists of: 

• Parents’ letter & permission slip template for you to complete A3 posters to promote your trip around school 
• PowerPoint presentation templates which you can tailor to your own needs 
• Online parents’ video which showcases the benefits of taking a school trip 

Risk assessment support including preview visit

Risk assessment plays a vitally important part in the planning and organisation on any school tour.

Our risk assessment guide aims to help you understand more about your obligations and how you can more effectively manage group safety on your next educational visit and provide you with risk assessments for your trip.

Planning first school trip

Organising your first school trip can appear to be a daunting process. 

If you're planning your first school trip, our guide will help to take you through each step of the planning process, answering frequently asked questions and providing tips and support along the way. 

Our helpful guide covers the following: 

• Choosing your destination 
• Gaining approval from your Local Authority and/or your Head 
• Promoting your tour in school 
• Confirming your booking 
• Tailor-make your tour 
• Completing your risk assessments (including a sample risk assessment) 
• Quick reference timeline 
• Pre-tour checklist 

View our essential guide to a successful school trip here

Get live updates on your group's tour location

Locate My Trip uses GPS technology and is the easy, convenient way for your school to follow your location whilst on tour. Specifically designed to provide reassurance to both parents and teachers, NST will know where your group are 24/7. If your schedule needs to change, we’ll put plans in place to keep your tour on track. 

With Locate My Trip your group can also share photos and videos with the school and parents, via a secure link, to keep them updated on your experience whilst you’re away.

Watch our short Locate My Trip video here

Your online school trip organiser - My Tour Manager

Save time and stay on track with your school trip admin with our online orgnaniser - designed to help busy teachers like you. 

With My Tour Manager, you'll be able to download FREE resources and access trip paperwork online and in one place. Your personalised checklist details what you need to do and by when, plus you'll receive fortnightly reminders too. 

What's more, you can take all your trip documents on the go whilst on your tour with our app, My Tour Manager-On-the-Go. 

Find out more and watch out short My Tour Manager video here

Free classroom resources

We've created a range of free geography resources and educational posters to brighten up your classroom!

Take a look at our downloadable posters here