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Between my Le Mans museum visit on Friday and the Paris Airshow on Sunday, I had some time to spare on Saturday.
There was this castle that I had on my list for a while and it was only 1.5 hours away from Le Mans. That was my Saturday destination: Château de Chenonceau.
How was it? It was not super spectacular. Much smaller than I imagined. Weather was great and it wasn't crowded early morning. Entrance was €15, parking was free. It was fine.
Between my Le Mans museum visit on Friday and the Paris Airshow on Sunday, I had some time to spare on Saturday.
There was this castle that I had on my list for a while and it was only 1.5 hours away from Le Mans. That was my Saturday destination: Château de Chenonceau.
How was it? It was not super spectacular. Much smaller than I imagined. Weather was great and it wasn't crowded early morning. Entrance was €15, parking was free. It was fine.
The estate of Chenonceau is first mentioned in writing in the 11th century. The current château was built in 1514–1522 on the foundations of an old mill and was later extended to span the river.
In 1535 the château was seized by King Francis I of France for unpaid debts to the Crown; after Francis' death in 1547, Henry II gave the château to his mistress, Diane de Poitiers, who became fervently attached to the château along the river. In 1555 she commissioned Philibert de l'Orme to build the arched bridge joining the château to its opposite bank. Diane then oversaw the planting of extensive flower and vegetable gardens along with a variety of fruit trees.
After King Henry II died in 1559, his strong-willed widow and regent Catherine de' Medici forced Diane to exchange it for the Château Chaumont. Queen Catherine then made Chenonceau her favorite residence, adding a new series of gardens.
Seen from the garden of Diane de Poitiers.
Between my Le Mans museum visit on Friday and the Paris Airshow on Sunday, I had some time to spare on Saturday.
There was this castle that I had on my list for a while and it was only 1.5 hours away from Le Mans. That was my Saturday destination: Château de Chenonceau.
How was it? It was not super spectacular. Much smaller than I imagined. Weather was great and it wasn't crowded early morning. Entrance was €15, parking was free. It was fine.
Property of the Crown, then royal residence, Chenonceau Castle is an exceptional site not only because of its original design, the richness of its collections, its furniture and its decorations, but also because of its destiny, since it was loved, administrated and protected by women, who were all extraordinary and who, for the most part have marked history.
For the historical background, the “Château des Dames” was built in 1513 by Katherine Briçonnet, and successively embellished by Diane de Poitiers then Catherine de Medici. Chenonceau was protected from the hardship of the revolution by Madame Dupin.
The iron, but very feminine, fist in the velvet glove has always preserved Chenonceau during times of conflict and war in order to make it forever a place of peace.
Chenonceau Castle has an exceptional museum collection of the Old Masters’ paintings: Murillo, Le Tintoret, Nicolas Poussin, Le Corrège, Rubens, Le Primatice, Van Loo... as well as an extremely rare selection of Flanders Tapestries from the 16th century.
Throughout its history, this emblematic Castle has always attracted talent and inspired great artists. Conveying beauty and combining the elegance of architecture with that of the spirit is also sharing an elegant way of life.
At Chenonceau Castle, the flower display in every sumptuously furnished room adds to its elegance. The room of Five Queens, the living room of Louis XIV, the grand gallery overlooking the River Cher, fabulous kitchens constructed in the piers of the bridge, the Green Cabinet of Catherine de Medici...Step by step, Chenonceau takes you back in time to share its dreams and reveal its secrets.
Das Schloss Chenonceau ist ein Wasserschloss im französischen Ort Chenonceaux im Département Indre-et-Loire der Region Centre-Val de Loire.
Chenonceaux - Indre-et-Loire - France
The Château de Chenonceau is a French château spanning the River Cher, near the small village of Chenonceaux in the Indre-et-Loire département of the Loire Valley in France. It is one of the best-known châteaux of the Loire valley.
The estate of Chenonceau is first mentioned in writing in the 11th century. The current château was built in 1514–1522 on the foundations of an old mill and was later extended to span the river. The bridge over the river was built (1556-1559) to designs by the French Renaissance architect Philibert de l'Orme, and the gallery on the bridge, built from 1570–1576 to designs by Jean Bullant.
An architectural mixture of late Gothic and early Renaissance, Château de Chenonceau and its gardens are open to the public.
The château has been classified as a Monument historique since 1840 by the French Ministry of Culture.
Built on the River Cher in the 16th Century, Thomas Bohier and his wife, Katherine Briconnet, demolished the fortified castle and mill but left standing just the keep. Known as the Marques Tower (to the right of the image). This stunning Chateau spans the river with a bridge supporting the impressive gallery - an image of which I posted previously. It served the Resistance well during the Second World War, who saved many allied lives crossing over the river, through the gallery, from the occupied left side to the free zone on the right of the banks of the Cher.