Loire Valley Chateaux

The first stop on our French honeymoon was the beautiful, chateaux-filled, green rolling hills of the Loire Valley. We flew into Tours, collected our Renault hire car, pulled out our directions to our accommodation and hit the road!

After about an hour of manoeuvring around the French countryside, we pulled into the long, winding driveway that would lead us to one of the most amazing homes I have ever been so fortunate as to visit in my life.

We stayed at the stunning Chateau de la Barre and could not more highly recommend it! The owners Marnie and Guy (pronounced to rhyme with “key”) are delightful, and the Chateau has been in Guy’s family for over 600 years, since 1404!  This exclusive chateau hotel with its romantic gardens is surrounded by XVIth century fortifications and was truly a sight for sore (but very excited) eyes when we arrived at about 6:30pm on our first day!

Chateau de la Barre

We had booked two nights in the Suite Marin de Vanssey (the ‘blue’ suite) and whilst it was abit of a splurge (at about €380 per night), it was worth every cent! The opulent blue and gold furnishings truly made us feel like royalty, and the four poster bed was the most luxurious thing you can imagine! There were big beautiful windows which opened up and overlooked the gardens. And the bathroom! Oh my. Thick, royal blue carpet on the floor, a lovely big bathtub (yes, of course it had the traditional clawed feet!), and quaint maritime paraphernalia on the walls… so unique and memorable. We really did love every second spent in the Suite – and I only wish we could have spent longer!

Suite Marin De Vanssey

The following photos are bit out of focus, but hopefully they show the pure opulence of the room – so glamorous and luxurious, it was stunning to see, and a joy to be able to stay there as we did!

Anyway, once we had scoped out the Suite itself, it was time for a quick shower and then back int o the Renault so we could rush to make our 8pm dinner reservations at Manoir de la Foret, an old hunting lodge lovingly transformed into a fine dining restaurant/luxury hotel deep in the middle of nearby forest. Read the summary of our dinner at Manoir de la Foret here.

By the time we arrived back at the Chateau after dinner, we were exhausted and it didn’t take long before we were fast asleep.

The next morning before breakfast we had a wander around the Chateau grounds and explored the rustic, homely, picturesque scenery – Marnie and Guy have two lovely dogs and Dave fell in love with the Ridgeback – she was a beauty! In the following photos you can really see the lovely flowers in bloom, the dew covered grass and the overall, breathtaking views we were lucky enough to enjoy when we were out early with no-one else to be seen! Very special.

Me taking in the early morning view of the fog-covered Chateau grounds from our wonderful bay windows (in my luxurious robe, no less!)

 

After our explore, we wandered back inside where Marnie had a lovely home cooked breakfast of freshly baked croissants, homemade jams using berries from the Chateau gardens, yoghurt, fruit, pastries and lovely fresh coffee. Not too long later, we were back into the Renault, armed with Marnie’s “day tour” directions and off to see our first royal Chateau!

Our wonderful hire car and Chateau de la Barre against the dawn sky – perfect start to the day!

First stop:  Chateau de Cheverny!

Different to many of the other famous Chateaux in the Loire Valley in that is is actually lived in by its owners (who also happen to have owned the Chateau for the last six centuries!), Chateau de Cheverny is beautiful. Stately, yet elegant, yet simple… it is surrounded by luscious rolling lawns and has a perfectly manicured fruit garden out the back on the way to the orangery (which now doubles as a restaurant).

To capture the full glory of the Chateau we walked around its entire exterior as well as the surrounding park and lake – I tell you what, the family that live here are very lucky – they have a gorgeous home!

Once we were satisfied we had seen the Chateau from every angle on the outside, it was time to venture inside. Since it is still lived in today, the owners have basically split the inside of the Chateau into two areas – one area which is their private living quarters and are not open to the public, and the second area which is displayed, decorated and furnished with original period pieces including a 17th century Gobelin tapestry shown in the Arms room or the Louis XIV chest of drawers in the Boulle style. The furniture and the interior decoration were remarkably well preserved.

The apartments on the first floor conveyed the traditional French way of living and we were able to see what a noble birth chamber, nursery, dining room all looked like. And man, did they know how to furnish in a luxurious way back in the day! Gold trimmings, thick velvet, paintings and tapestries galore! 

The bedrooms were amazing, the beds were all four poster and usually raised on a pedestal, and Dave loved seeing the “weapon room” with spears, armour and all other sorts of medieval and classical weaponry. They also had a lovely family tree done up which I loved, maybe when we have children, we can do a  replica in our own home!

 Next Stop: Château de Chambord!

Namesake to the wonderful Chambord liqueur (which incidentally was made commonplace when the Emperor, Louis XIV of France visited this, his Chateau, in the Loire Valley and there was none of his favourite liqueur  left, only one they made from the Chateau’s blackcurrents!

The Château de Chambord is probably one of the most recognisable châteaux in the world because of its very distinctive French Renaissance architecture which blends traditional French medieval forms with classical Renaissance structures. The building, which was never completed, was constructed by King François I.

Chambord is the largest château in the Loire Valley and was originally built to serve as a hunting lodge for François I, who maintained his royal residences at the châteaux of Blois and Amboise. The original design of the Château de Chambord is attributed, though with some doubt, toDomenico da Cortona; Leonardo da Vinci may also have been involved (especially the huge double felix staircase in the middle of the Chateau which many say is most definitely Da Vinci’s design!).

Chambord was altered considerably during the twenty-eight years of its construction (1519–1547), during which it was overseen on-site by Pierre Nepveu. With the château nearing completion, François showed off his enormous symbol of wealth and power by hosting his old archrival, Emperor Charles V, at Chambord.

In 1792, in the wake of the French Revolution, some of the furnishings were sold and timber removed. For a time the building was left abandoned, though in the 19th century some attempts were made at restoration. During the Second World War, art works from the collections of the Louvre and the Château de Compiègne were moved to the Château de Chambord. The château is now open to the public, receiving 700,000 visitors in 2007.

We did the audio guide tour, which was actually incredibly fascinating as it told not only the story of the Chateau’s construction, but also told of the daily rituals, and lifestyles of the royalty, servants and other residents of the Chateau whilst it was in use. As a history buff, I just loved this aspect of the tour, and I think it also gave Dave a pretty interesting introduction to the nobility of France and their way of life.

After a big day out sightseeing, we made our way back to Chateau de la Barre where we had another amazing treat awaiting us!

Grand Siecle Dinner

For our second (and final) evening at the Chateau, Marnie and Guy organised one of their famous Grand Siecle Dinner’s, starting with champagne and canapes in the front courtyard (below you’ll see a photo of Marnie with their African Macaw!), and then hosted in their formal dining room and included a four course dinner by candlelight, served in the XVIIth century dining hall with embroidered linen, family silver, fine porcelain and antique crystal.

The other guests were also invited and we met some interesting folk including two couples from NYC who were hilarious and loved giving us, the newlyweds on our honeymoon, relationship advice (my fave: Always find time to spend just the two of you, even once children come along. Hell yeah – date nights!).

The meal was spectacular and Marnie and Guy were the ultimate hosts – pouring our wines, starting conversations and making everyone feel very welcome.

After dinner, coffee and brandy were enjoyed in the ornate Grand Salon, with its unique furniture collection made for the Marquis de Vanssay’s marriage at the château in 1778. We learnt all about the interesting history of Guy’s family – his connections to French royalty and the lords and ladies of times gone by, were quite awe-inspiring!

Needless to say, after the copious amounts of rich French food, and delicious French champagne and wine that was drunk, we downed a few glasses of water before bed – we had another big day of sightseeing ahead of us in the morning and another early start!

The next morning, we bid farewell to the lovely Marnie and Guy, packed our little Renault up and hit the road on our way to our third and final Loire Valley Chateau.

Château de Chenonceau: The Ladies Chateau

In 1547, Emperor Henri the 2nd gave this Chateau to his mistress, Diane de Poitiers who made it her home, and it was she who oversaw the adding to the arched bridge joining the Chateau to its opposite bank on the River. Diane also designed the extensive beautiful flower gardens (which exist to this day in their original form and layout) of the Chateau and its distinctive and lovely design can be largely attributed to her.

Other female patrons / owners / mistresses of Chenonceau include Catherine de Medici (Henri’s actual wife!), who upon Henri’s death, forced his mistress to give up the Chateau (bait of jealousy here perhaps?!) and instead Catherine made it her home. She added her own gardens in a  different area o the grounds and the Chateau becomes famous for the extravagant nightie parties she would host there.

When Catherine died, the ownership of the Chateau passed to her daughter in law, Louise de Lorraine-Vaudémont, wife of King Henry III. It was whilst living at Chenonceau that Louise was told of her husband’s assassination in 1589 and she fell into a state of depression. Legend has it she spent the rest of her days dressed in mourning black and aimlessly wandering the chateau’s  corridors.

After that, it was owned by Louise’s heir’s wife, Françoise of Lorraine, Duchess of Vendôme, and passed quietly down the Valois line of inheritance, alternately inhabited and abandoned for more than a hundred years. The next female owner was Madame Louise Dupin who saved the Chateau from ruin and destruction during the French Revolution. Such an amazing history! and such a beautiful Chateau – here as some pics!

The Chateau has its own chapel and you’ll notice the beautiful stained glass windows, plus there are a lot of photos showing the furnishings in the royal bedrooms and the fireplaces – a necessity given how chilly it gets in this part of France, especially in winter! You’ll also notice the kitchen which is furnished exactly as it would have been a couple of centuries ago, with a lot of copper pots and a the meat hooks! The ground were beautiful and besides Diane and Catherine’s individual flower gardens there was also a very cool maze to get lost in!

Chateau de Chenonceau

Selfies galore at this stunning place!!

The beautiful chapel’s stained glass windows

The famous overwater bridge / hallway which once doubled as a WW2 hospital!

The Chateau’s kitchen, complete with copper pots and meat hooks!

Yet another angle of this gorgeous Chateau

Here are some of the royal bedrooms and chateau furnishings 

Some more shots of the Chateau’s exterior and gardens!

Dave in the maze!

Chenoneceau was our last stop on our whirlwind Loire Valley trip, and so it was with a camera full of photos and minds full of wonder, that we hit the road, and made our way to Amboise!