Châteaux de la Loire

Chenonceau Castle and Gardens

The traditional gardens were destroyed in the 19th century to create an English-style park around the chateau. Built on the river Cher, where the unique beauty of its architecture reflects in the water, the Château de Chenonceau is the Val de Loire’s finial.

Château des Dames as recorded in the French history books, Chenonceau was built in 1513 by Katherine Briçonnet, then made even more attractive by Diane de Poitiers and Catherine de Médicis, and saved from the rigors of the French Revolution by Mrs Dupin.

The lovely surroundings, the formal garden and the park surrounding it add to the impression of delicate grace emanating from the castle.

Chenonceau is not only remarkable for its architecture and history but also for the fine quality of its collections as can be seen from the inside visit: Renaissance furniture, a vast ensemble of XVI th and XVII th centuries tapestries and a great number of masterpieces. Le Primatice, Rubens, Le Tintoret, Rigaud, Nattier, Van Loo are among the most famous names that can be found there.

Cheverny Castle

The present Château de Cheverny is an original jewel among the more famous monuments that stretch along the Loire Valley. In fact, Renaissance style did not find its place in Cheverny, which is built in the purest Louis XIII classical style, distinguished by an extraordinarily symmetrical architecture. Cheverny, which was built in the first part of the 17th Century, is a prime example of this style. Its delicate features also stand out through the perfect whiteness of the stones, from the Bourré quarries in the Cher Valley. This particular stone not only comes out white, but also becomes harder with time. However, this almost rigid architectural layout also has its contrasts, such as the variety of roofing styles, from domes, to bell-towers and other French-style roofs.

The building work was put under the direction of an architect, master-mason and sculptor, Jacques Bougier, who was very well-known in his time. He also worked on a wing of the nearby Château de Blois. His work on a royal castle shows Cheverny’s desire for quality. Unfortunately, Bougier died before completing his work. Cheverny’s main staircase is the work of an unknown craftsman who simply left his initials and a date on the ground floor: FL 1634. The Château de Cheverny is perfectly preserved as it was built all at once. Nothing has been changed.

Chambord Castle

Chambord is the largest of the Loire castles, sumptuous Renaissance Palace, creation of the king François I inspired by the famous Leonardo da Vinci. Dreams of a genial artist made reality by the enthusiasm of the greatest king of the 16C.

What to see during your visit: The Unique Roof Terrace, the lantern, the famous double staircase and one of the four guard-rooms, the Queen Bedchamber, the Royal Bedchamber, the King's suite, one of the 365 fireplaces in one of the 440 rooms.

Amboise Castle

Built in the 15th and 16th centuries, this truly royal castle introduced Italian style and taste into the Loire Valley. After touring the royal apartments, take a stroll in the beautiful gardens filled with Mediterranean trees and enjoy the panoramic views. In St. Hubert's Chapel is the grave of Leonardo da Vinci which has recently been the subject of elegant restoration. The castle is now a reminder of times past and royal prestige.

Château du Clos Lucé - Parc Leonardo da Vinci

Le Clos Lucé is where Leonardo da Vinci spent the last three years of his life, painting and working at his thousand passions until 2nd May 1519, the day when he died in, here in this house.

You can enter the bedchamber of the Master, his kitchen with its monumental fireplace, his fine Renaissance halls of brick and stone, and his delightful chapel, built by Charles VIII for Anne de Bretagne. Let your imagination work in the mysterious entrance to the secret underground tunnel which, according to an oral tradition, linked the Château d'Amboise to Le Clos Lucé, and which King Francis I used to visit Leonardo. And discover his 40 fabulous machines, 4 centuries ahead of their time, made with materials of the time.

What to see during your visit to Le Clos Lucé:

• the watchtower, the last piece of medieval architecture surviving here, a reminder of the time when Le Clos Lucé was a fortified dwelling.
• the bedchamber of Leonardo da Vinci, where he lived and died, with its monumental fireplace, the Renaissance bed, the cabinets of secrets made of ivory-encrusted ebony, an Aubusson tapestry…
• the great hall, the reception room where Leonardo da Vinci would receive Francis I, the greats of this world, and the artists who came to visit him
  the kitchen of Leonardo da Vinci, the realm of Mathurine, his cook.
• the workroom of Leonardo da Vinci, where he drew up the plans for the Château de Romorantin, produced the Sologne drainage plan and designed collapsible houses for the Court.
• the oratory of Anne de Bretagne, with its frescoes.
• the 18th century salons from the period when Le Clos Lucé belonged to the Amboise family.

Finally, visitors' cannot fail to be enthralled by the mysterious entrance to the secret underground tunnel which, according to an oral tradition, linked the Château d'Amboise to Le Clos Lucé, and which King Francis I used to visit Leonardo da Vinci.

Villandry Castle and Gardens

Villandry was built by Jean le Breton, one of François I’s Finance Ministers, whose coat of arms can be seen on the gable of the left-hand dormer window.

His most impressive achievement in this field was the construction of Chambord, that vast flight of regal fancy, which Le Breton supervised under the aegis of François I. While directing this project, he built for himself nearby a small replica of Villandry called Villesavin near the Chambord chateau. Le Breton had first been ambassador to Italy where he spent all his time studying the Italian Renaissance art of gardening. In order to build the present chateau, Le Breton had razed an old XIIth century castle, from which he had only kept the old tower that can be seen behind the main courtyard.

Villandry stayed in le Breton family until 1754 and then became the property of the Marquis de Castellane, the King’s Ambassador who came from a very illustrious noble family from Provence. He built the Classical style outbuildings that you can see on either side of the front courtyard. He redesigned the interior of the chateau to meet the standards of comfort of the XVIIIth century which are much closer to those we know today than to those, which were applied during the Renaissance.

The traditional gardens were destroyed in the 19th century to create an English-style park around the chateau.