France, Loire Valley: Château de Chenonceau

Château de Chenonceau

One of my dreams came through – A visit to a Château in the Loire Valley! Having heard so much about them I was thrilled to spend time at the Château de Chenonceau is located in the Loire Valley in France, by the River Cher.  It was once the property of the French Crown. Tourists from all over the world visit this chateau for its exceptional beauty, the vast artefacts in its collection, its furniture and the amazing decorations. This castle has always been protected by extraordinary women, who have managed to mark history with their protective actions and their strong personalities.

History of Château de Chenonceau

Château de Chenonceau

The Château was built in 1513 by a lady named Katherine Briconnet and later on in history passed through the hands of Diane de Poitiers and then Catherine de Medici. Between 1789 – 1799, Madame Dupin owned the Chateau and successfully managed to protect the castle from the hardships of the French Revolution – the Château at the time was the centre of the most famous French philosophers of the Age of Enlightenment. All of the women, who protected it during wars and conflicts, were aiming to keep this place beautiful and peaceful, no matter what the rest of the world was suffering.

The Chapel inside Château de Chenonceau

The Great Hall Château de Chenonceau
part of the kitchen Château de Chenonceau
part of the kitchen Château de Chenonceau

part of the kitchen Château de Chenonceau
Beautiful flower arrangements at part of the kitchen Château de Chenonceau

A visit to Château de Chenonceau

I visited the castle and its fantastic museum, which hosts a large selection of paintings by the Old Masters. In this museum, you will have the opportunity to admire the paintings of Murillo, Rubens, Le Tintoret, Nicolas Poussin, and Charles-Andre Van Loo. In almost every room you can admire the unique collection of Flanders Tapestries dating back to the 16th century.

I loved the flower compositions in each room. It’s  created and curated by floral designer Jean-Francois Boucher, Master Craftsman of France.

Jean-Francois Boucher, Master Craftsman of France


I experienced the incredible tour with the help of a small iPod that guided me through every room in the château  – one of the best things about the tour is that it’s free and very helpful. One of the things most worth seeing in the château is, of course, the wide variety of plants, flowers and vegetation which amazed me!  Each one has its very own personality. A special Botanical tour with Nicholas Tomlan, botanical director  and  time in the Castle  flower workshop with Jean-Francois Boucher can be arranged in advance, contact events@chenonceau.com

The Floral and Vegetable Garden

Finding myself into the floral gardens, I had the chance to see more than 100 climber rose-trees. They are specially grown and groomed for this garden. You can also find here 240 apple trees and 220 Queen Elizabeth rose-trees. The vegetable garden holds a variety of vegetables as well as herbs. They have a musical garden and they make their own honey.

The Green Garden

Another fantastic garden designed by Bernard Palissy. Here you can see sculptures nestled amongst Japanese Coretes, Laurels, Yews, Box trees, cherry trees, Chimonanthuses and Calycanthuses. Spread along the greenhouses, you can find Magnolias, Cedars, and Sequoias.

Catherine and Diane’s Gardens

I took my time to admire the shrubs and the stemmed roses. Along the 70 hectares, you will find more than 40,000 flowers. Walking through the maze and getting lost in time and beaut is a must!


A meal at The Orangerie

The  Château de Chenonceau has a couple of eateries choices. I visited the Orangerie, which is open from March to November, it can host up to 200 people, I just love the fabulous space and the stunning interior design.

Lunch

‘A meal should always start with champagne’

A platter with fantastic appetizers : Smoke duck with onion confit, foie and beet jelly, Cherie tomato pesto and olive oil


Delicate Seabass filed with spinach, tasty  grilled artichoke, rocket pistou, white asparagus,  verdant
and sweet peas scattered with purple edible flowers borage
Dessert :  Divine Lime  and orange: Creamy coconut ice cream, the smallest Meringue, Citrus Coulis, Lime zest and Coconut shavings  – a work of art on a plate
Beautiful cheese cart, favourite was Le Fleur de Nuits by Rodolphe Le Meunier

A wonderful meal by Chef  Christophe Cannett, perfect friendly service. 

The Château de Chenonceau is definitely a place worth visiting at least once in your life.

A brief video of my visit: 

 
Disclosure: I was a guest of Château de Chenonceau  as part of press trip organised by Atoutfrance. All views are my own.

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7 Comments

  1. June 11, 2017 / 8:26 am

    That looks like such a wonderful, magical place to visit.

  2. Kara Guppy
    June 11, 2017 / 3:12 pm

    At what point do you stop saying "wow" – what a simply stunning place to visit – hopefully we will get to experience a chateau one day

  3. June 11, 2017 / 7:42 pm

    We visited a chateau last year whilst in France – it was simply stunning, as this one is. Love your photos. Kaz

  4. Munchies and Munchkins
    June 11, 2017 / 8:44 pm

    Wow, this looks incredible. I love that its free to tour and the you have the iPod to listen to as well.

  5. Lauretta C Wright
    June 11, 2017 / 9:05 pm

    The chateau looks pretty amazing! And those landscaped gardens are stunning. I'm not surprised you ended up taking loads of photos!

  6. Joanna Davis
    June 12, 2017 / 8:55 am

    The castle looks so pretty and it reminds me of one of my first ever school assignments, which was a project on the castles from the Loire Valley. The inside of the castle is so charming and the lunch you had very scrumptious.

  7. MissSparkles
    June 14, 2017 / 8:38 pm

    What a beautiful place and the food looks gorgeous too!!