Center

The Center region includes the Departments of: 45 Loiret with its capital city of Orléans; 41 Loir et Cher with Blois being the capital of the department; 37 Indre et Loire with Tours as the capital; 36 Indre with Châteauroux as the capital; 28 Eure et Loir with Chartres as the capital of the department and 18 Cher with the capital city of Bourges. With those names, many will recognize this as muchof the Loire Valley.

From my very first trips to France back in 1986 this is a Region that I have always enjoyed. A week of so of driving along the Loire Valley to tour the châteaux - well, does it get any better?

The Center Region may not be know by its offical name, but it is known by many who have travelled to France.

Blois Châteaux at night	Chambord

During the Renaissance Period, the Kings of France made the Loire Valley their desintation for residences.

Azay le Rideau is considered one of the top château along the Loire. The Château de Chambord is one of must-see château, and you will surely be asked: "Did you go to Chambord" - well yes you should. It just screams royalty on a grand scale! Leonardo de Vinci designed the magnificant center stairway. Chenonceau was ,built on a bridge across river Cher for the mistress of .King Henry II. The Château de Chaumont is a large fortress that over looks the Loire. Chateau de Villandry is know for its formal gardens and has superb interior decorations and furnishings. The Chateau d’Usse is a known as a dream castle, inspiration for the book "Sleeping Beauty". Blois is known fir is Renaissance castle with its thousand windows and magnificent staircase. There are many more places to visit. Give yourself some time and enjoy a slow drive along the River. With the mid day closings you can on some days visit three châteaux a day. But they may look relatively close together on the map. The distance you can cover is limited. Slow, windy roads. Or straighter roads with plenty of trucks. Give youself the time you need to enjoy. Onto page two for more information and photos.

 

Azay-Le-Rideau

This is rated as one of the most scene château in the Loire Valley. It sits in it private lake and inside there are paintings, furniture and tapestries to view. We enjoyed our stop here.

 

Blois

Located 181 km from Paris, Blois was one of stops on my first tours of France. For my first visit to the Loire Valley I traveled from Paris by Blois by train. Easy and quick. I then booked the numerous bus tours available to visit "three châteaux a day". By having Blois as my base and staying in this town from a number of days it was my first introduction of the difference of being in France and traveling through France. The local cheese shop got to know me and my limited French. By the third visit they were bringing out cheeses that were not in the case to try. On later trips Blois would again be a stop and it is an easy city to drive into with a car and then travel the area. If you are there in the spring, Blois is known for the asparagus grown in the area.

The château is interesting to visit in the day. See the Catherine de Medici apartments with furniture and tapestries. On some evenings they play music and light up the château and do a sort of play with lights in rooms going on and off in conjunction with a recount of some of the events.

Chambord

The spires and pinnacles of the roof.	The towers of the keep and the wall.
A grand feeling in this château.	You can walk along the roof.
Grand Escalier

A former hunting lodge, it was rebuilt in 1519. It follows the plan of a feudal château with a central keep with four towers and a wall enclosing the château, it was inspired by Saint Peter's in Rome. There are 440 rooms. See the chapel and the King's Apartments.

Cconstruction, under Francois I, began in 1519 and was completed much later by Henri II, Charles IX and Henri III. Some 1,800 to 2,000 men worked on the construction during the time of Francois I. This is a castle of many owners but a permanent residence to none. Francois I lived in the palace for only six months. There was always someone there, as Kings used Chambord as a retreat or as a hunting lodge. As to the architect, it is not know. Some say Leonardo da Vinci, who at the time was living at the Clos Lucé in nearby Amboise, made some of the plans and models. But, it could also be the work of Domenico da Cortona, and Italian architect, who designed somewhat similar palaces.

Its big, there are 440 rooms, 365 fireplace, 13 great staircases. The stables can house 1,200 horses.

Chambord actually was almost demolished after the French Revolution. In 1793 all of its the furnishings were dispersed. Luckily for us, the State took over in 1947 and commenced restoration work.

Chenonceaux

And women say men don't listen! Diane de Poiter, the mistress of Henri II suggested a five-arched bridge across the river Cher. That started it all. Later, when Henri II died, Catherine de Medici made Diane give up Chenonceaux for the Château Chaumont and had the grand gallery built on the bridge.

The château was built in 1515. The keep, the front section was actually part of a previous manor was was dismantled to build the new château.

This is a very pleasant château to visit. Walking along a gravel roadway lined with plane trees the front of the château greets you but you do not see the impact of the gallery over the river until you walk along the river so you can get a view. The kitchens are down in the archways below the building and worth have a look at. All that food that had to be carried up!

 

 

 

 

Cheverny

 

Built between 1604 to 1634 this château has been in the Hurault family for more than 400 years. The viscount's family still lives on the third floor. Luckily Cheverny was not sacked during the French Revolution. So go and enjoy the furnishings of this château and the dogs. Hundreds of dogs will meet you along the fences.

If you can be there at 5:00 it is dinner time and the noise of the dogs barking for their food... they know what time it is.. is incredible. I was amazed at the incredible discipline of the dogs. They must stay in their place while the food is being put out. No one moves until they get the command.

Yes this is a hunting place and see the trophy room as it has more than one thousand antlers and the heads of five wild boar.

 

Chinon

 

The streets of the town down by the river have a medieval flavor. The ruined château is up on a rock spur above the town. You can walk through parts of the château.

Ussé

Every château has a history, and for this, Charles Perrault, author of Mother Goose, was inspired by this château to write Sleeping Beauty.

The building dates from the 15th Century and it is part château and part fortress.

When we went through the inside we found the interior to be a little too much over the top and touristry. Here is an example of where things are better seen from a far.

Once outside, walk across the road and walk along the canal and this provides a great view.

In fact, it was in the parking lot for this chateau that we met a couple and their children - Le Gouëffs - we have been friends ever since.

We have visited them in France on more than one occasion. They, traveled to Canada and drove through the Rockies and toured the Inside Passage of the West Coast.

Yes, I think there is something magical about Château Ussé.

 

 

Villandry

 

	This château is know for its gardens and that is what led us for a visit. The formal gardens, including the herb and vegetable garden boxes were of some interest to me, Karen enjoyed them more, but I think there are other château that would be of greater general interest.

 

 

Amboise

	Amboise was first part of the possessions of the Counts of Anjou. It then changed "hands" to be part of the House of Amboise and with these changes the flavour of the town changed fromone of fortress, to one of Royal Residence.

One of the true "royal" residences, the chateau was built during the 15th and the 16th centuries on the orders of Charles VIII, Louis XII and François 1.

The Royal Castle was important as in the Middle Ages it held a strategic position looking over one of the few bridges that crossed the Loire River.

The Chapel of St. Hubert is within the walls of the castle and it is the last resting-place of Leonardo da Vinci. Originally Leonardo was buried in the king-castle, in the cloister of the church Saint Florentin. The church was destroyed and also part of the Kinds Castle, so his remains were moved to the Chapel of St. Hubert.

We lucked and and were able to stay at the Chateau de Pray.

 

La Châtre

Traveling with no pre-booked reservations at hotesl offers your the most freedom and the potential for dissapointment. Sometimes you simply can't get a room where you want. In the case of visiting La Châtre, we could not find anything, but that turned out to be a good thing as we stayed in the town of Saint-Chartier at the Chateau Saint Chartier and ended up having quite the experience.

	This area is famous because of George Sand - the pen name of Aurore Dupin. She was born the great granddaughter of the Marérchal de Saxe, a brillant military commander under Louis XV. She often danced in the village at La Châtre and socialized there. They have George Sand festivals each year here.