2017 France: Chartres, Amboise, Beaune, Paris: Chateaux de la Loire Part 2

Day 4: 3 chateaux (Azay-le-Rideau, Villandry, Langeais)

After another breakfast staring at strangers, we headed out. I was really looking forward to the chateaux on today's agenda. The clear blue skies over Amboise were riddled with vapor trails. Cool.

Garden at La Grange Amboise B&B

Lots of vapor trails

Azay-le-Rideau was the #1 chateau on my list for 2017. From my research, I believed it would be gorgeous with a fascinating history. It was all I expected and much more.

It's on a small island on the river Indre. It was started in the 12th century but it and the whole little town were burned down in 1418 by the Dauphin de France (future Charles VII) in retaliation for some insult. It was in ruins for 200 years. Under Francois I, it was rebuilt in the style of a Renaissance chateau by Philippa Leshaby and Gilles Berthelot. Francois I allowed use of lumber from one of his forests for the construction (described in the attic). The King took the castle away from the Berthelots and gave it to his Captain of the Guards. At the French Revolution, the Marquis de Biencort bought the chateau and it stayed in his family until 1840. They renovated and restored it during their ownership. It has belonged to the State since 1905.

One of its beautiful doors

It was recently renovated and was just absolutely beautiful inside and out. We were there pretty early and it was not crowded. The first thing we did was walk its entire perimeter. The grounds were gorgeous and the castle super picturesque from all angles.

I fell in love with these plants

The interior was equally gorgeous. There's a gorgeous staircase with the rooms branching off it. Some of the rooms had the original furnishings from the 17th century. We went up all the way to the attic--not to be missed--where we lingered reading the displays about the construction. Fascinating.

Renaissance Chamber

View from the top floor

Incredible slate roof

Francois I's salamander

Biencort Salon

There was a bridge here at one time

The grounds are not as extensive as at other chateaux and nothing really was blooming. We marveled at the variety of trees, including Louisiana Cypresses. We concluded that there was a lot of travelling during this period and the wealthy could acquire specimens from almost anywhere.

It may seem silly, but I felt I could manage this chateau, of all the ones we've seen. It's not massive, it's well laid out, the grounds aren't too extensive, it's in a decent sized town. It's kinda perfect; my dream castle. :)

Not the worst selfie ever

Up next was Villandry which I wanted to see for its award winning gardens. It is a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Villandry was the last of the Renaissance chateaux build under Francois I. Jean Le Breton started it in 1532. His family owned it until 1754 when it was acquired by King Louis XV's ambassador, Marquis de Castellane, who updated it which took away a lot of its original details. In 1906, Joaquin Carvallo and his American steel heiress wife, Ann Coleman, bought the chateau and grounds and set upon restoring it to its original design. The chateau is still in Carvallo hands, currently owned by great-grandson, Henri. It has been open to the public since 1929.

The interiors are furnished like when Joaquin and Ann Carvallo lived there. Pretty but not over-the-top, a bit worn in places. It seemed like a comfortable home.

View from a bedroom

View of courtyard from a room

Intricate ceiling

The interiors were fine but the gardens were WOW! Spectacular! We pretty much ran through the house to get outside.

Per the internet, there are five distinct gardens: Sun, Ornamental, Water, Vegetable, and Medicinal Herbs. There was also a maze which one of us navigated perfectly. We took our time walking around and just enjoying the incredibly beauty around us.

We reluctantly left Villandry's gardens; the weather looked threatening.

Next up was Langeais. I didn't expect much from this chateau and had chosen it because it was close to Villandry. It was a very pleasant surprise! We both loved this chateau.

Langeais was started in the 1460's by King Louis X!I. It's a medieval fortress with some early French Renaissance touches that were added by Jacques Siegfried, who owned it from 1886 to 1904, when he gave it to the State. It was here that Anne of Bretagne and Charles VIII were married in 1491--there's a creepy tableau of the wedding in the great hall. Siegfried restored it to its medieval glory and furnished it with 15C items. It has formal gardens and a great park overlooking the town. It also has the oldest stone keep in France--Fulk Nera--which you can climb for great views.

View from Fulk Nera keep

There were loads of lovely medieval details.

Medieval tiles

Medieval lock

The great hall had the recreation of the wedding of Anne de Bretagne and Charles VIII which was held there in 1491. The mannequins were creepy. There was an audio reenactment but we didn't wait around to hear it in English.

Charles' sister, Anne of Beaujeu,
and her husband, Peter

Anne and Charles

The chateau is right in the middle of town

Pretty flowers on display

Chateau from the formal garden

Climbing Fulk Nera keep

It wasn't rickety :(

Lovely views

View from Fulk Nera keep

He was glad to be down! :)

Tree house in the Langeais park

Pretty door

Interesting door knocker

We explored all the nooks and crannies we could then headed back to the car and got on the road to Amboise.

We parked the car at the B&B and headed to Café des Arts for drinks before our 730pm reservation at Chez Bruno. I got sparkling wine again. The bartender remembered we'd ordered "champagne" last night. It's a major offense! :) We sat outside, dodging the smoke, for awhile. It's a great spot to people watch.

We'd loved our dinner at Chez Bruno in 2015 and were looking forward to it again. Chez Bruno is now listed in all the guidebooks. Reservations are a must. The restaurant has expanded since 2015 and its charm seemed greatly diluted. We had a nice table inside; the restaurant was pretty full. The service was not as attentive as we remembered: in 2015, the hipster looking staff were ridiculously on top of things. The food was good but not great.