Loire Valley Tours
The best way to visit the castles on the Loire Valley is to book a room in a house in the nearby villages, for at least one week, during the summer time.
The entire Loire Valley zone is a tourist one, so you won’t have problems finding a willing peasant.
Some castles offer the guided horse walks, barbecues with regional specialties, bike rides and other outdoor events. To enjoy all these, you need to spend time in the castle’s neighborhood.
The same for having lunch in the wonderful restaurants, which were once castles.
I took a one-day trip from Paris to the Loire Valley and it wasn’t cheep at all: 153 Euro.
But, I had the chance to visit three beautiful castles (or chateaux, if you wish): Chambord, Cheverny and Chenonceau.
With a five centuries history, Chambord is a masterpiece of the French Renaissance. Built for Francois 1st, was later one the Louis XIV’s home.
The magnificent architecture will take your breath away.
A huge staircase, 90 rooms, roof-terraces with a panoramic view on the estate, paintings, tapestries and furniture.
You can also explore, by walking, the one thousand hectares of the National Wildlife Sanctuary of Chambord and see the free animals, thanks to permanently accessible observatories.
From April to November 11, bikes and boats rental allowed you to enjoy the view, from a new perspective.
The horse show takes place in the stables of the Marshall of Saxony, daily from May to September.
The second castle on the tour was Cheverny, work of the architect Boyer of Blois and its painter and
decorator Jean Monier. The same team had worked for Queen Marie de’ Medici at the Luxembourg
Palace in Paris and at the Château of Blois.
The castle is built in stone from Bourré, which lightens in colour with time. The facade is decorated
with roman busts sculpted in the classical style.
The decoration of parallel stones in relief and the side wings topped with domes were novelties at
the time.
The painter Jean Monier studied in Italy for eight years and the influence of the Italian
Renaissance can be notice inside the castle: at the staircase, in the king’s bedroom’s door, the
paneled ceiling and the paintings on the chimney-piece.
The garden and the park with its huge sequoias are a pleasure to walk in.
You can also see the beautiful three-colored hunting dogs used on the domain.
Cheverny is a hunting center as well.
The Orangery and the pigeon house can be only seen from outside.
The third castle on the tour is Chenonceau, the lady’s castle.
Built by Thomas Bohier and his wife Katherine Briçonnet, the castle became a royal residence by
the time when François I was the king of France. Later on, in 1547, Chenonceau was given as a gift to Diane de Poitiers by the king Henry II, using a means in line with court subtleties, that of a the gift in recognition of the “great and commendable services” rendered by her husband to the Crown.
The king’s mistress, Diane de Poitiers, carried out interior and exterior architectural work and laid out
gardens that were among the most modern at the time.
At the death of the king Henry II in 1559, his wife, Catherine de Médicis, ordered Diane to give
Chenonceau back to her, offering the Chaumont-sur-Loire castle in exchange.
The queen continued the architectural and ornamental work, made extensions to the gardens and
created “the Queen’s cloth” woven in Orleans by increasing the silkworm rearing capacity and
having the silk spoon on the spot.
Visiting the castle you will see: the guards’ room, the Chapel, Diane de Poitiers’ bedroom, the green
study, the library, the kitchens, François I’s bedroom, Louis XIV living room, Catherine Briçonnet’s
hall, five queens’ bedroom, Catherine de Medici’s bedroom, estampes exhibition room, Cesar of
Vendome’s bedroom, Gabrielle D’Estrees’ bedroom, Louise of Lorraine’s bedroom and the gardens.
Chenonceau is the best-furnished castle out of these three.