And again, down Loire valley lane of my belle France. I am taking you down to the fairy tale castle of the ladies! The town and castle has a peculiarity of the name but that is just history my dear readers. The place of course visited and again, and need to tell you a bit more on it, Ah, I am talking about the Castle of Chenonceau at Chenonceaux!
This is a fairy tale castle in the castle rich Loire Valley area of France. It is most known for its connection to the many woman who nourish it,and improve it over the years. I went to the area often as used to purchase my goodies there and helped the Lion Club International in the Touraine region. To get there it is best by car as I always will tell you, from Paris on the autoroute A10 exit/sortie Blois or Amboise, better) ,parking is free at castle. You can do so by train from Paris Montparnasse to Saint Pierre des Corps near Tours, and then from Tours train station to Chenonceaux by TER train ; the station is just outside the castle walking distance. Of course ,for info as always here by car.
The Château de Chenonceau is located in the village of Chenonceaux (the x story see later) . You have castles here since the 12C, with a fortified windwill from 1230. The Château de Chenonceau goes thru many changes of hands and a legal battle to gain title to the property by heirs of Thomas Bohier, he finally marries a one Catherine Briçonnet (the first lady of the story of the castle) , which does lots of work on the property until her death in 1526. Due to bad finances and no taxes paid, the king François I takes the property in 1535. Later king Henri II gives it to his favorite lady Diane de Poitiers (see my post on Anet) ,she ,also, does lots of work on the castle. After the death of Henri II in a duel in 1559, the crown finds a way again to take the property back, this time is Catherine de Medicis.
You have a continuation history of woman relating to the castle such as Louise de Lorraine wife of king Henri III where the bedroom in the 2nd floor shows on the door the deuil of her assassinated husband in 1589. She lived here until her death surrounded by religious sisters that took domicile at the castle, turning it into some form of convent after the death of Catherine. A room dedicated to the daughters and daughters in laws of Catherine de Medicis, the chambre des Cinq Reines or bedroom of five queens (Marie Stuart, Marguerite de France (queen Margot), Louise de Lorraine, Elizabeth of Austria, and Elizabeth of France).
A Claude Dupin buys the property in 1733 ,and his second wife , Louise Dupin, creates a heaven for conversation and enlightment so welcoming amongst others Voltaire, Fontenelle, Marivaux, Montesquieu, Buffon ,and Rousseau. As indicated above , it is her, Louise Dupin that is given credit for the different spelling of village and castle as village of Chenonceaux and castle of Chenonceau, there is no proof to said otherwise then her wish as owner of the castle during the French revolution and great friends of the village people where she saves the chapel to converted into a wooden depot to differentiate between the royalty where the castle is and a strong representation of the French Republic (France). Many owners follow suite, too numerous to name. Finally the property goes back to its original heirs in 1975 before passing for visits by many famous painters such as Gustave Flaubert. During WWI ,it serve as a military hospital and during WWII the castle makes mark into free France and occupied France, from which it escape with the chapel destroyed which later rebuilt.
From the bedroom of the ladies in the history of the castle to the room of king Louis XIV, to the gardens of Diane de Poitiers and those of Catherine de Medicis ,the place is just gorgeous and a must visit.
The Castle of Chenonceau has a collection of murals of paintings from amongst others Murillo, Tintoret,Nicolas Poussin, Le Corrége, Rubens, Le Primatice, ” Les trois grâces” of Van Loo, and a nice group of tapestries of Flanders of the 16C. After the gardens you can ,also, see the farm or ferme with buildings from the 16C, the laberinth ,italian style with 2000 trees. In the building of Dômes, you find wax museum with a historical presentation from the Renaissance to WWI paying tribute to all the woman who have reign on castles. There is a restaurant in the Orangerie of the highest French standards, a salon de thé, with self service,and snacks sandwiches, There is a children playgrounds, little boat rentals for kids, and a park of donkeys.
And to see other structures next to these gardens such as the Galerie des attelages or gallery of horse teams and it’s collection of hippo cars dating from the 18C to early 19C. The gallery of domes or the Galerie des Dômes that preserves the souvenirs of the military hospital that was setup at Chenonceau during WWI. And the castle has a boutique shop inside for souvenirs.
The official Château de Chenonceau: https://www.chenonceau.com/en
The Touraine Loire Valley tourist office on the castle : https://www.touraineloirevalley.co.uk/cultural-heritage/chateau-of-chenonceau-chenonceaux/
There you go folks, a dandy in the marvelous Loire Valley of my belle France. You need to come to the castle of the ladies, Château de Chenonceau! Hope you enjoy the post as I
And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all !!!
Paris1972-Versailles2003 