I debated and debated with myself when planning the Paris leg of our trip on whether to venture out of Paris to iconic places like Versailles and the Loire Valley or whether to explore the other side of the Seine – Sacre Coeur, Montmatre, Marais, the Moulon Rouge. It all sounded so compelling and I wish we had had another day or two in Paris to see some of the other amazing areas but ultimately, I wasn’t disappointed in the slightest with our choices.
On my previous trip to Paris, I hadn’t been to either Versailles or the Loire Valley. I particularly wanted to see the Palace of Versailles and Karl had an interest in the Loire Valley so we chose these trips over the other sights of Paris.
We both really wanted to visit Giverny too to see Monet’s house and garden but decided that the day trip combining Versailles and Giverny would be too rushed. With everything we had to see at Versailles and the huge crowds, we made the right call.
chenonceau
So I searched around before we left Australia for a day trip to the Loire Valley that would include the chateaux that we were most interested in. Chenonceau – or the’ ladies’ castle’ – was considered one of the most beautiful in Europe so that was definitely on my list. So was Chambord which has the magnificent spiral staircase said to have been designed by Leonardo Da Vinci. So after much research, I ended up booking a Loire Valley 3 chateaux tour encompassing Chateau de Chenonceau, Chateau de Cheverny and Chateau de Chambord by France Tourisme.
We met at the France Tourisme office around 7.15am and had a bit of a wait until everyone was ready for the tour. As there were five of us, we made up about half of the group so we didn’t feel like we were just a number in a large tour group. The guide was friendly and well-informed and took the time to speak to each member of the group to share historical information about the castles.
When we arrived at Chenonceau, it was still early and there was a beautiful mist hanging over the castle and its grounds. It was eerily delightful as we slowly walked down the long, tree-lined drive to the castle. As the castle came into sight, it was simply spectacular with its romantic turrets, glorious gardens and impressive location spanning the width of the River Cher.
The castle is known as the ladies’ castle due to the series of seven women who lived in and worked on the castle, bringing a special feminine flair to the property.
The women of Chenonceau included Katherine Briconnet, wife of Thomas Bohier who oversaw the original rebuilding work between 1515 and 1521; Diane de Poitiers, mistress of King Henri II of France, who was responsible for creating many of the most beautiful gardens in the castle grounds; Catherine de’ Medici, the widow of King Henri II who threw Diane de Poitiers from the castle after Henri II’s death and embarked upon an extensive expansion program; Catherine’s daughter-in-law Louise de Lorraine-Vaudemont who, following her husband’s assassination, mourned continually and lived in a totally dark room with black tapestry on the walls (you must visit this room to see exactly how bleak and dark it is!); Louise Dupin who saved the castle from destruction during the French Revolution; Marguerite Pelouze who completely restored the chateau in 1875, totally depleting her finances due to the cost; and the last lady of the chateau, Simonne Menier who transformed the castle into a hospital to look after the wounded during World War I.
Perhaps due to our early start, the chateau was quite uncrowded during our visit and we each wandered around at our own pace, visiting the areas of most interest to us. There is something quite liveable about this chateau – perhaps it was the smallness of many of the rooms, the timber in the fireplaces or rawness of the décor with old tiled flooring instead of opulent carpets. As always, I loved the kitchens with their old pans, fake produce and wonderful cabinets with pots and bakeware.
The view across the river was absolutely lovely and the gardens were fabulous. There is also a maze but we were asked not to go in there for fear of not making it out in time to leave for the next chateau.
chateau de cheverny
We had an enjoyable lunch sitting outside at Chenoneau before moving onto Chateau de Cheverny, a castle that is still lived in by descendents of the original owners, the Hurault family. This chateau was built between 1624 and 1640 and it actually feels like a home (if you’re used to living in a mansion of course). In fact, the wedding dress of one of the owners from 1994 hangs in the bridal chamber and the nursery is full of wonderful old toys. Despite these homely touches however, the chateau is a very large stately home with opulent décor and some magnificent features like the Louis XIII style stone staircase and the richly decorated King’s Bedchamber.
Unique to any chateau or castle we visited on our European trip were the kennels of Cheverny. As a hunting ground, there are about one hundred French hounds living in the kennels even today. Be warned however, it is quite smelly and most of the dogs were just lying around so there really was little to see.
chambord
Our final castle for the day was the magnificent Chambord. This is the largest chateau in the Loire Valley and it is seriously impressive with its French Renaissance architecture. Built as a hunting lodge for King Francis I, it is designed like a typical castle with a keep, towers and moat but without the turrets of Chenonceau. From the top of the chateau, you can look out over the expansive formal gardens and the surrounding countryside.
A highlight of Chambord is the ‘double helix’ spiral staircase that was purportedly designed by Leonardo Da Vinci. With four entry points, people travelling on the two staircases never meet and only can glimpse each other through the loopholes. We had to try this out of course, with the boys travelling on one staircase as I travelled on the other and it was true – we didn’t see each other and came out at different places. I had to hurry around the other side to try to find them!
While this chateau has sumptuously furnished apartments, it felt more like a castle than the other two chateaux. The beautiful white stone has a bareness about it that is almost like an abbey in places and the carvings on the stonework and intricate features are stunning. We had an afternoon snack at the chateau before leaving for our trip back to Paris, arriving about 7.30pm after a very long but thoroughly interesting and full day.
st germain-des-pres
We decided to walk to St Germain-des-Pres that night for dinner. There were lots of very full and lively restaurants along the way but we really wanted something quiet and small, preferably with pizza after our tiring day! We ended up walking down a laneway and found a very unassuming little Italian restaurant with wonderful authentic pizza. I haven’t been able to find out the name but it is down a laneway to the left of Rue de Four I think. Possibly it is Pizzeria Positano. It’s worth looking for as it was such a find and I’m really disappointed that I can’t tell you the name. All I can say is that it had La Bella Vita on the wall but that doesn’t seem to be its name.
Regardless, it was a lovely, down to earth meal and we enjoyed the wander through the very lively streets of St Germain-des-Pres on the way back to the hotel.