The Best Golf Courses in the Loire Valley
The valley of the kings hides two of the best courses in continental Europe behind the gates of one private estate, then scatters honest, affordable chateau golf along 200 kilometers of river. From Gil Hanse's heathland masterwork at Les Bordes to a par 72 in the gardens of Cheverny, here are the nine courses that matter between Orleans and Angers, ranked.
Photograph: Les Bordes Golf Club, via Google
How we ranked them
We rank on the quality of the golf first: the land, the architecture, the greens and the walk. Then we weigh setting, condition, visitor welcome and value, the same standard we apply across our ranking of the best golf courses in France. Every fee below is the club's own published visitor rate, with season and year stated. Where a course is private, we say so plainly.
A note on geography. This list covers the Loire Valley proper, from the Sologne forest south of Orleans through Blois and Tours to Anjou. Golf de la Bretesche, a fixture of many Loire lists, sits near the Brittany coast and is excluded here. For the wider country, start with our guide to golf in France and our breakdown of French green fees.
The 9 best golf courses in the Loire Valley
Les Bordes (New Course)
The best course built in continental Europe this century, and it is not a close argument. Hanse found pure sand under the Sologne pines and laid a classical heathland course across it: heather, broom, vast scraggy bunkers and firm, fast greens among oak, chestnut and century old pine. It vaulted into world top 100 conversations within a year of opening. The catch is total: Les Bordes is a private members club and the New Course is for members and their guests only. We rank it because it defines the region's golf, not because you can book it.
Les Bordes (Old Course)
Built for Baron Marcel Bich of Bic pen fortune, von Hagge's brooding original was for decades the consensus number one in France: water everywhere, fairways carved alone through deep forest, a brutal and beautiful examination. It remains von Hagge's masterpiece, and like the New it is members and guests only. The estate's Six Senses Loire Valley hotel, expected to open in September 2026, is set to give guests the ten hole Wild Piglet par three course by Hanse and the practice facility, but the two big courses stay private. Always confirm directly before booking.
Golf de Limere
The best course in the valley that takes your booking. Robinson, long Robert Trent Jones's man in Europe, routed Limere through the same Sologne pine and birch country as Les Bordes, just south of Orleans, with sandy soil and a set of well defended greens that hold their quality deep into winter. It still feels a class above the regional norm. Published green fees have run from about €52 to €79 depending on season and day (2025 rates), strong value for golf of this pedigree.
Golf du Chateau de Cheverny
The postcard round of the trip. The course spreads through the woods of the Cheverny estate, around the Rousseliere pond, fifteen minutes from Blois and within sight of the chateau that inspired Moulinsart in the Tintin albums. Van der Vynckt's design opens through parkland, tightens into the trees and finishes across the water. Nobody calls it a championship test; everybody remembers it. Dynamic pricing puts green fees at roughly €45 to €72 (2025 published range), and a morning here pairs perfectly with an afternoon at Chambord.
Golf de Touraine
The old money club of the region. Founded in Tours in 1911 and moved in 1971 to the Domaine de la Touche, a nineteenth century chateau outside Ballan Mire, it is the valley's traditional members club that still welcomes visitors. Fenn's routing is tight, mature and clever, with narrow tree lined fairways, natural water and small greens that punish the crooked, the most complete test of the Tours cluster. Published visitor rates run about €55 to €80 (2025), with advance booking essential at weekends.
Golf du Chateau des Sept Tours
The stay and play of the valley. Thirty kilometers northwest of Tours, the course wraps around a fifteenth century castle that now operates as a hotel, so you can sleep in a turret and walk to the first tee. The par 72 stretches to a genuine 6,093 meters from the back pegs, longer and more demanding than its fairy tale setting suggests. Green fees run about €36 to €63 by season (published rates), and the castle terrace is the best nineteenth hole in the region.
Golf de Sully sur Loire
The volume buy. Sully offers 27 holes in three distinct nines, Sarcelles, Chevreuils and Faisans, each pairing into a different par 72, and a single green fee lets you roam all of them: €57 in high season, April to October, and €42 in winter (2025 published rates). The golf is honest Sologne forest fare, sandy underfoot, framed by pines and ponds, minutes from the medieval fortress of Sully sur Loire. For a 36 hole day at one course price, nothing in the valley touches it.
Anjou Golf and Country Club
The western anchor of a Loire golf trip. Hawtree, of the great English design dynasty, built a spacious, links flavored course across open Anjou farmland at Champigne, twenty minutes north of Angers, with water in play and large, subtly contoured greens. At 6,231 meters off the back tees it is one of the longest cards in the region, and on site lodging makes it an easy overnight. The club publishes seasonal visitor rates on its own site rather than a flat card, so check pricing when you book.
Golf d'Ardree
The value play of the Tours cluster. Now run under the Bluegreen banner as Tours Ardree, Brizon's 1988 design spreads over a 70 hectare estate of century old cedars, with a stream feeding water hazards through the round and a small chateau as the backdrop. It is shortish, friendly and perfectly suited to the middle handicapper who wants chateau golf without the scorecard bruises. Published fees run €37 to €54 for 18 holes by season, the gentlest pricing of any full course on this list, and online booking is straightforward.
Near misses: Golf d'Orleans Donnery, a charming par 71 founded by American servicemen in 1952, and Bluegreen Angers La Perriere, wrapped around the Chateau de la Perriere outside Angers. Rankings are the editorial verdict of the GolfForKings desk; facts and fees verified June 2026.
Where they are, and indicative costs
The A10 motorway and the river are the spine of the trip. Limere, Sully and Les Bordes cluster around Orleans and the Sologne, Cheverny sits in chateau country near Blois, and Touraine, Ardree and Sept Tours ring Tours, with Anjou Golf out west near Angers. Paris is an hour from Tours by TGV, so it is simple to bolt this route onto the best courses around Paris: the sandy forest golf of Fontainebleau and Morfontaine, Le Golf National's Albatros course for Ryder Cup pilgrims, and Chantilly Vineuil north of the capital.
| Course | Cluster | Indicative visitor fee |
|---|---|---|
| Les Bordes, Old and New | Sologne, east | Private; members and guests only |
| Golf de Limere | Orleans and Sologne | €52 to €79 (2025 published) |
| Golf du Chateau de Cheverny | Blois, chateau country | €45 to €72, dynamic (2025) |
| Golf de Touraine | Tours, west center | €55 to €80 (2025) |
| Golf du Chateau des Sept Tours | Northwest of Tours | €36 to €63 by season |
| Golf de Sully sur Loire | East of Orleans | €57 high season, €42 winter (2025) |
| Anjou Golf and Country Club | Angers, far west | Seasonal; see club site |
| Golf d'Ardree | North of Tours | €37 to €54 by season |
Indicative visitor green fees as published by each club, checked June 2026; where a club had not yet published a 2026 card we show its latest published figure and say so. Many Loire clubs use dynamic or seasonal pricing. Always confirm directly before booking.
Booking individual rounds? Compare live tee times through our partner: [TEE_TIME_AFFILIATE_LINK]. Chateau hotels from Orleans to Angers: [HOTEL_AFFILIATE_LINK].
Plan your Loire Valley golf trip
The right chateau base, tee times sequenced around the great houses, and straight answers on what is bookable at Les Bordes. Tell us roughly when and who is traveling, and one concierge builds the trip and costs it to the head, no obligation. See all our France golf holidays.
Loire Valley golf questions
What is the best golf course in the Loire Valley?
Les Bordes is the best golf in the Loire Valley by a distance, with Gil Hanse's 2021 New Course and Robert von Hagge's 1987 Old Course both ranked among the finest in continental Europe. Both are private, so the best course most visitors can actually book is Golf de Limere near Orleans, a Cabell Robinson design on the edge of the Sologne forest.
Can visitors play Les Bordes?
Not the two championship courses. Les Bordes is a private members club and the Old and New Courses are reserved for members and their guests. The estate's Six Senses Loire Valley hotel, expected to open in September 2026, is set to give hotel guests the Wild Piglet ten hole par three course and the practice facility, but not the main courses. Always confirm directly before booking.
How much are green fees in the Loire Valley in 2026?
Budget roughly 36 to 80 euros for 18 holes at the region's public access courses, based on the latest published rates: Touraine about 55 to 80 euros, Cheverny 45 to 72 with dynamic pricing, Sully sur Loire 57 in high season, Sept Tours 36 to 63 and Tours Ardree 37 to 54. Always confirm directly before booking.
How do you plan a Loire Valley golf trip?
Think in three clusters along the river. The east holds Orleans, the Sologne, Limere and Sully sur Loire. The center is chateau country, with Cheverny near Blois and Chambord up the road. The west covers Tours and Anjou, with Touraine, Ardree, Sept Tours and Anjou Golf near Angers. Three or four nights with bases near Blois and Tours covers the lot, with a chateau visit between rounds.
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Researched and written by the GolfForKings editorial desk. Course facts and indicative fees verified June 2026. Last reviewed June 2026.