Loire Valley Day Tour Itinerary #2 Chateau(s)

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CHENONCEAU

Free visit of the CHATEAU DE CHENONCEAU.

Built in the XVIth c., it is one of the purest Early French Renaissance style works. The square dwellings, built in the riverbed itself on the piles of a fortified mill, the square building is the original chateau. On the bridge built by Diane, rises The two-level gallery completed by Catherine de Medicis. . You will discover the guardroom, the chapel, a superb 60 metres long gallery above the Cher river, Diane de Poitier and François 1st rooms. In the upper levels, you will admire the bedrooms of Gabrielle d'Estrees, Catherine de Medicis and Louise of Lorraine… Settled inside the two piles of the former mill anchored in the Cher river bed, the kitchens will reveal the art and ingenuity of the Renaissance builders. Not far from the gardens of Diane de Poitiers and Catherine de Medicis, stands "La Galerie des Dames de Chenonceau" settled in the former Royal stables. Here are told the dreams, ambitions, the great projects and the destinies of those women who made the history of the place. A walk in the French style gardens will provide a pleasant end to your tour.

Then, AMBOISE

Free visit of the CHATEAU D’AMBOISE.

Built in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries by Charles VIII, Louis XII and François 1er, the chateau is one of the first royal residences and a splendid example for gothic and renaissance architecture. Still nowadays it shelters an exceptionally well-preserved collection of furniture.
Leonardo da Vinci lived there his last years of life. He is buried in the St Hubert chapel, built in high gothic style of the fifteenth century. Overhanging the city of Amboise, you will discover from the gardens of the chateau one of the most famous panoramas in the Loire-Valley.

CHAMBORD

Free visit of the CHATEAU DE CHAMBORD

4 centuries after its building, it still mystifies one's imagination: 156 meters of façade, 56 meters high, 440 rooms…The plan of the château is based around a square residence flanked with round towers, a traditional form of keep and a symbol of feudal power. The axis of the keep is the splendid double helix staircase, whose two bricked spiral flights rise independently around a central hollow column, and allow two persons to climb together to the terrasse without meeting each other. Since the early twentieth century, the clarity and geometrical power of the palace has been interpreted as evidence of the involvement of Leonardo da Vinci, working for François 1er in the Loire Valley since 1516.

Then, CHEVERNY

Free visit of the CHATEAU DE CHEVERNY.

The castle that uses model to Hergé to draw Moulinsart, you will astonish by wealth, the density of his furniture and the authentic charm and refined of his decoration. A chateau said to have invented the French style in 1630-1640 describes Cheverny built by Henri, Count of Cheverny, This richly furnished chateau is still owned by the descendants of the Count and have enhanced, maintained and preserved the beauty and character of their respective periods. The main facade is cut stone from Bourre, a quarry in use from the 11th century to the present day.Inhabited all year by its owners, the Domain of Cheverny belongs to the family of the Hurault, big personages and counsel kings Louis XII, 1st François, Henri III and Henri IV.The traditions of the Vénerie there are perpetuated and respected. Today, the kennel shelters a meute of 70 English French dogs of which « the soup » remains a spectacle astonishing.