Chateau de Chenonceau (舍農索城堡) is located near the small village of Chenonceaux in Loire Valley. The original site belonged to the Marques family until 1513 when Thomas Bohier bought the castle and built a new chateau that we see today. In 1547, Henry II offered the château as a gift to his mistress, Diane de Poitier. The garden of Diane de Poitier was also established. In 1555, she built the arched bridge joining the chateau to the opposite bank of River Cher (謝爾河, French: Le Cher). After King Henry II died in 1559, Queen Catherine made it her own favorite residence and added a new garden. She also added a grand gallery along the existing bridge in 1577. The war between two rich and famous women gives Chateau de Chenonceau one more reason to visit it.
We drove from Blois. It should take about 45 minute by car, but it took us some additional time to find the entrance/parking of the chateau. Our GPS directed us to the south of the River Cher but the correct location of the entrance is located at the north of the river in downtown Chenonceaux. The ticket office is not so far away from parking lots. It was not crowded when we visited in mid April and gave us have more time to enjoy the chateau's beauty. This chateau is more beautiful than the Château de Chambord we visited the previous day. It is smaller but its unique gallery over the bridge crossing the river, well-maintained displays and two amazing gardens make it one of the most visited chateaus in France. After the checkpoint, there is a beautiful road with large trees on both sides leading you to the chateau. It was a short and comfortable walk. Before we crossed the short bridge over the moat to the chateau, there stood the Marques tower - a round tower, and a turret housing the stairwell. It was the only visible remains of the medieval castle of the Marques family in 16th century. Inside the chateau, we saw many luxuriously furnished rooms that were used by King Louis XIV, five Queens and other aristocracy. One marvelous feature of the chateau was the Kitchen. Those varieties of bronze kitchenware and facilities were in good condition; a visit to the kitchen could be a fascinating eye-opener. Outside the chateau were the garden of Diane de Poitier and the garden of Catherine de' Medici on each side of the chateau. Both gardens had its own character and beauty. In addition to the main attractions, there were restaurants, cafés, fabulous 16th century farms, floral workshops and gardens. We did not realize there was a garden maze located on the left side between the checkpoint and the chateau.
Be sure to check out the 16th century farm. It shows farm life back to 500 years ago. The garden of the floral workshop was full of a variety of colorful tulips during our visit. We ended our visit by sitting on the bench along the stream near the parking lot while having our crepe lunch. We spent 3 hours here and was glad we visited this chateau among many chateaus in Loire River area.
We drove from Blois. It should take about 45 minute by car, but it took us some additional time to find the entrance/parking of the chateau. Our GPS directed us to the south of the River Cher but the correct location of the entrance is located at the north of the river in downtown Chenonceaux. The ticket office is not so far away from parking lots. It was not crowded when we visited in mid April and gave us have more time to enjoy the chateau's beauty. This chateau is more beautiful than the Château de Chambord we visited the previous day. It is smaller but its unique gallery over the bridge crossing the river, well-maintained displays and two amazing gardens make it one of the most visited chateaus in France. After the checkpoint, there is a beautiful road with large trees on both sides leading you to the chateau. It was a short and comfortable walk. Before we crossed the short bridge over the moat to the chateau, there stood the Marques tower - a round tower, and a turret housing the stairwell. It was the only visible remains of the medieval castle of the Marques family in 16th century. Inside the chateau, we saw many luxuriously furnished rooms that were used by King Louis XIV, five Queens and other aristocracy. One marvelous feature of the chateau was the Kitchen. Those varieties of bronze kitchenware and facilities were in good condition; a visit to the kitchen could be a fascinating eye-opener. Outside the chateau were the garden of Diane de Poitier and the garden of Catherine de' Medici on each side of the chateau. Both gardens had its own character and beauty. In addition to the main attractions, there were restaurants, cafés, fabulous 16th century farms, floral workshops and gardens. We did not realize there was a garden maze located on the left side between the checkpoint and the chateau.
Be sure to check out the 16th century farm. It shows farm life back to 500 years ago. The garden of the floral workshop was full of a variety of colorful tulips during our visit. We ended our visit by sitting on the bench along the stream near the parking lot while having our crepe lunch. We spent 3 hours here and was glad we visited this chateau among many chateaus in Loire River area.
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James Huang - All rights reserved.
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