DAY 16, OCTOBER 1, 2022

STAY:

Tours continued

SIGHTS:

Château de Chenonceau, Château de Amboise

CHOICES

France’s Loire Valley is nestled between the villages of Sully-sur Loire and Chalonnes, and the area is a World Heritage Site.

With more than 300 chateaux in the Loire Valley, the choice of which ones to visit is overwhelming.

The following was the list we narrowed down to... 3 castles a day, in practice it became just the 1st 2 as we had only time for enjoying 2 per day
Chateau Chenonceau the busiest the prettiest,Amboise and Clos Luce
Villandry, Azay, Usse [Langeais]
Chambord, Cheverney, Blois

Château de Chenonceau

The Château is located in Touraine, on the Cher river, 214 km from Paris, and 34 km from Tours.

As the former residence to Diane de Poitiers, King Henry II’s mistress (and later Catherine de Medici,

King Henry II’s wife), this castle is the second most visited in France, after Versailles.

But aside from its historical significance, and perhaps provocative reputation, the château’s most magnificent feature is its location spanning the Cher River.

From the outside, the Gothic columns over the water form a magnificent bridge, whereas from the inside, the gallery’s spectacular checkered floor and crystal chandeliers make it a mesmerizing step through time.

RELEVANT HISTORY

In 1535, King Francis I incorporated it into the Crown Estate as part of a debt settlement.

Later, King Henry II decided to offer it not to the Queen, but to his Favourite, Diane de Poitiers, “in full right of ownership, seisin and possession, completely, peacefully and perpetually, to dispose of as her own and true patrimony.”

This artificial exit of Chenonceau from Crown Lands meant that it was saved, two centuries later, from the French Revolution.

On 10 July 1559, Queen Catherine de’ Medici, widow of Henry II, quickly deposed Diane de Poitiers and installed the authority of the young king, her son, at Chenonceau, amidst Italian pomp and splendour.

Amongst the festivities she held here, she managed the Kingdom of France from her study, the Green

Cabinet. Her daughter-in-law, Louise de Lorraine, wife of King Henry III, became a widow in turn, and

moved into the château in her mourning.

In the 18th century, after the château was purchased by her husband, it was Louise Dupin, lady of the

Enlightenment, who welcomed to Chenonceau the greatest scholars, philosophers and academicians in

France to her famous literary salon. This exceptional woman was the first to draft a Code of Women’s

Rights,

KITCHENS

APOTHECARY

The military hospital

From 1914 to 1918, the Château de Chenonceau was converted into a military hospital. This dedicated

space, in the “Gallery of Domes”, pays tribute to the memory of all those who helped treat over 2,250

wounded here, during the full four years of the Great War.

Gaston Menier, senator of Seine-et-Marne, and owner of Chenonceau at the time, decided to take part in the national war effort and offered the Ministry of War to set up a temporary military hospital in the

château, covering all the expenses himself.

WINE CELLAR

GARDENS

12000 sq m, parterre

This garden is overlooked by the Chancery, which was the home of the Steward to Catherine de Medicis.

Two perpendicular paths and two diagonal paths delimit eight large triangles of lawn decorated with

curving scrolls of santolina shrubs.

The raised terraces, which protect the garden from the Cher when in spate, are punctuated by ornamental basins, and offer views over the yew, spindle, box and laurustinus bushes that line the flower beds More than a hundred hibiscus stems flower here in the summer. Between these bushes, the flower beds emphasise the rigorous geometry of the garden.

On all sides, climbing Iceberg roses adorn the terrace walls.