The Castles of the Loire Valley

The next stop on our French itinerary was the famed and fabulous Loire Valley – about 6 hours drive from our Burgundian guesthouse. The countryside changed noticeably en route – from the pastoral vistas of vineyards and rolling hills to the more-obviously pruned and primped meadows and patches of forests suited to the premier region for castles in all of France.

Heavy rain meant that our range of vision was quite restricted, but the sheer number of signs indicating castles nearby did more than enough to whet our appetite for further exploration. After innumerable traffic circles we reached the city of Amboise which stands proud on the banks of the Loire itself. After another very fruitful visit to the local tourist information offices we decided to try for a bed at La Herserie – a château dating from 1860 set on 32 acres of its own private parkland, with its own lake, stables and gardens. We were in luck – and managed to secure a room in the old converted stable block for 47 Euro per night, including breakfast…our very own French castle!!!

No Need to Be Royalty To Live Like Kings in the Loire Valley!

After dropping our bags we took a long walk through the parkland of our Chateau – made somewhat more challenging by the on-off rain that we dodged under the overhanging trees. For dinner we drove into the next small town, Blerẻ. After walking around looking at the different options we settled on La Sarrazin restaurant – specialising in French crêpes made from black wheat (galettes). For main course we shared one filled with Eisbein and another with an Indian curry filling. Desert was a banana and chocolate crêpe and another filled with calvados flambé and green apple sorbet! What a rough life this backpacking is!!!

There are so many things about France that we really love but its about time to place on record one major source of dissatisfaction – French beds and pillows! The beds tend, invariably, to be too soft – with the normal result that my side becomes more of a hammock than a flat surface, and Denise (weighing considerably less) rolls all night into my direction! (Ok – I kind of like that part, but she finds it disturbing). Worse still are the pillows. Instead of the over-sized Continental pillows I had been expecting, most of our hostels and B&B’s came equipped with a single sausage shaped roll to be shared between us both. Apart from the inevitable tug-of-war, my own preference for wrestling with my pillow meant that Denise got even less sleep! She eventually gave up/in and surrendered – choosing instead to use her balled-up sweater instead. Friday saw us both happy to swop our room in the stables for one on the top floor of the manor house – what a view! Pity about the pillows!!

Our first Loire Valley castle was Chambord – the hunting ‘lodge’ of Francois I, later adapted and significantly expanded by his successors, especially Louis XIV (the Sun King). Set in a massive area of parkland larger than central Paris, it is overwhelming in every respect. Complete with central keep, towering battlements, an imposing exterior wall and surrounded by an archetypal moat it is simply perfect – the fairytale European castle. You enter through the outer wall and pick up your audio guide – which we found thoroughly enjoyable and worthwhile. Highlights of the castle tour include the very austere Greek-Cross-shaped keep (the original building of Francois I when Chambord really was more lodge than castle); the unique double helix central staircase modelled on similar sketches by (and some say directly designed by) Leonardo Da Vinci, which allows two people to ascend or descend simultaneously without ever meeting; two separate theatres; the famous salamander symbol and graven F of Francois I carved everywhere you look – especially the ceilings; the Queen’s rooms; a superb chapel (also used in WWII as a storage and distribution point for French art treasures from Paris – including the Mona Lisa); and some amazing views from the roof over the massive canal that drains the wetlands surrounding the castle (Francois had hoped to divert the course of the Loire itself to allow for boat travel to Chambord, but this project was abandoned as too costly and difficult – even for the Venetian master engineer employed to make it happen).

After a quick lunch of French Fries we headed for our second castle , nearby Cheverny, made famous as the inspiration for the castle in the Tin Tin comics – but sadly we arrived just too late as the gates had closed minutes earlier. The lesson? Don’t try to do too much in one day – Chambord is more than enough to occupy 7 hours.

Saturday saw us reluctantly checking out of our chateau (a large family group had hired all the rooms well in advance for their great-grandmother’s 80^th birthday – she still skis and golfs with the best of them!). After leaving we drove to Castle Chenonceaux. Where Chambord was overwhelming Chenonceaux is enchanting. Built actually in the River Cher in the time of Francois I it is breathtaking in a much more feminine way – set upon vast arches almost as if built up upon a bridge spanning the breadth of the river (during the War one bank was in occupied France, the other not – leading to some very daring tales involving espionage through the castle). Also set in a large forested area and meant as a hunting retreat it became the epitome of royal French taste and style – especially its magical garden areas. We arrived and walked to the castle via its extensive and intriguing vegetable gardens, an old preserved 16^th century farming village, and the castle wine cellars (where we chose to avoid the tasting since it is not free). Our route took us to the sculptured gardens of Catherine de Medici (the smaller of the two main garden areas). She was the Florentine wife of King Henri II who had originally given the castle as a gift to his mistress, Diane Poitiers. Following his death Catherine, the Queen, ordered Diane to return the castle to her (giving her a lesser one in the area instead) and moved in herself – ruling France from Chenonceaux for many years. Diane had run the castle exceptionally well, like a business in fact, and the marks of both these exceptional women have defined the castle and its environs – most evidently in the gardens where Diane’s competes with Catherine’s on either side of the castle.

An interesting feature of our visit was the audio guides which at Chenonceaux are actually audio-visual guides (video iPods) – we decided against hiring them since 10 Euro seemed a little steep – and the free colour brochure has tons of great information about every room. Highlights of the visit included the river itself; the two gardens; the chapel (closely associated with Mary, Queen of Scots); the vast and preserved kitchens in the cellars; the Great Hall running the full length of one floor over the river; Catherine’s room and library; and an exhibit of old drawings and paintings of the castle. The outdoor yew tree maze is carefully cultivated, but unless you are under ten or really short the lack of height makes navigation through the maze relatively simple.

Although we ended up seeing only two of the more than 30 major castles in the area the Loire Valley will always be a special memory for us. It is exceptionally beautiful countryside dotted with some of the finest examples of medieval European architecture anywhere. The fact that the castles are clustered so closely together (all within about 2 hour’s drive) makes it even more accessible – especially if you have your own transport (which we highly recommend since package tours on busses, although apparently of high quality, are expensive and totally inflexible – for us the best part was being able to decide where to spend more time and where less). The upshot? You don’t need to be royalty to live like a King in the Castles of the Loire!