And of course, in most if not all of these towns, the castle is it. However, some have charm and pleasant surrounding for a walk in town; this is the case of Valençay. I was there to see the castle , of course. (see post). However, I did venture out into the streets as love to walk all over the towns once in it. Let me give you the town view of Valençay; hope you enjoy it as I.
The town of Valençay is located in the dept Indre 36 of the Centre Val de Loire region, It owes its name to the Gallo-Romain Valens who owned in this place a villa “Valenciacus” (Domaine de Valens). From the 3C to the 5C, workshops and buildings which housed among other things an oven, a mill and a press were built around this villa. It is a stone fortress which was built at the end of the 10C and the beginning of the 11C to defend the region. At that time, the Templars for their part founded a commandery beyond the Nahon river. The church of the village was built around the abbey. A feudal castle appeared with the first lord of Valençay Bertrand Gauthier in 1220. Jacques 1er d’Estampes had the feudal castle razed to the ground in 1540 to begin construction of the current castle.
The Count of Luçay ceded his domain in 1803 to Charles-Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord, then Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Consulate who only obeyed the orders of Bonaparte. In 1808, the castle was chosen by Napoléon I as the residence of the Princes of Spain in exile. Ferdinand of Spain, his brother Don Carlos and his uncle Don Antonio did not leave Valençay until 1814 after signing a treaty settling the Spanish affair. And Napoleon,been booted out of Spain…
It was spared from the wars of 1870-1871 and 1914-1918. During WWII, it was a place of parachuting of weapons and supplies for the guerrillas hidden in the forests of Gâtines and Garsanland. On August 16, 1944, it suffered in particular from Nazis reprisals. but the castle was spared thanks to the German origins of the Duke of Valençay and to the curator of the Louvre museum who could parley. Blood is thicker than water…
Some of the other things you can see here are
The Tombeau de Talleyrand, (did not visit) which is in fact a chapel which once served as a place of prayer for the Daughters of the Cross; Talleyrand had a large crypt dug to be buried there, which served as a burial place for his descendants until 1952. Since May 21, 2010, the sarcophagus has been transported to the Notre-Dame Chapel and the tomb can be visited. The Notre Dame Chapel is near the city/town hall of Valençay.
The Valençay tourist office on the tomb of Talleyrand : http://www.valencay-tourisme.fr/decouvrir-le-pays/edifices-religieux/tombeau-de-talleyrand.html
The wheat market or Halle au Blé , would have existed for several centuries, and would have been part of the domain of Prince Talleyrand at the beginning of the 19C before being sold to the city of Valençay. The Halle then has an old-fashioned thatched roof and a rammed earth parterre. The current building dates from the second quarter of the 19C when it was completely rebuilt. For nearly a century and a half, the Halle au Blé had been organized like a large covered market and thus hosted the weekly local market. Today this beautiful white tufa building, with the large entrance of wrought iron and stained glass, topped with a decor of red bricks, and surrounded by four beautiful pilasters, has a modern and authentic look at the same time. For several years now, between April and June, the Festiv’halle’coustique, one of the city’s main musical events, has taken place in the halle au blé or wheat market.
The Saint-Martin Church, also there was a Talleyrand museum in the outbuildings , (did not see) orangery of the castle of Valençay (see post). The furniture and works of art that were there have been reinstalled inside the castle itself. Musée de l’automobile de Valençay or Automobile Museum (did not see) ; presents more than fifty beautiful vehicles including the Renault limousine of presidents Raymond Poincaré and Alexandre Millerand, and the Delaunay-Belleville of the Mousquetaire cruise.
And as hunger have it , came quickly in Valençay. The town had a nice traffic especially inside the restaurant we pick by chance a créperie breton lol! Can’t get away from them!! It was a hit, the Xavier Bouvier owner was very talkative and friendly adapting to our dog Rex and my Dad very nicely, we appreciated. The food was good galette complet royale with crêpe dark chocolate, Lancelot blonde breton beers and coffees all for 21€ per person nice! A pleasant find in nice Valençay. Oh the place was Créperie Le Biniou 17 Rue Ancienne des Bouchers. No web but all worth it me think.
Further, the City of Valençay on its heritage : http://www.valencay.fr/plandelaville.php
Valençay is a town of the most beautiful side trips (detours) of France:https://www.plusbeauxdetours.com/tous-les-plus-beaux-detours/detour-par-valencay-dans-lindre/
There you go folks, a dandy little town with a lot of punch in the Loire. This is Valençay and we like it; another dot to be back soon. Hope you enjoy the castle and town of Valençay as well as I.
And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all!!!
Paris1972-Versailles2003 