Spanning the languid Cher River via a series of supremely graceful arches, the castle of Chenonceau is one of the most elegant and unusual in the Loire Valley. You can’t help but be swept up in the magical architecture, fascinating history of prominent female owners, the glorious setting and the formal gardens and landscaped parkland.
The château’s interior is crammed with wonderful furniture and tapestries, stunning original tiled floors and a fabulous art collection including works by Tintoretto, Correggio, Rubens, Murillo, Van Dyck and Ribera.
This architectural fantasy land is largely the work of several remarkable women (hence its alternative name, Le Château des Dames: ‘Ladies’ Château’). The initial phase of construction started in 1515 for Thomas Bohier, a court minister of King Charles VIII, although much of the work and design was actually overseen by his wife, Katherine Briçonnet.
The château’s distinctive arches and one of the formal gardens were added by Diane de Poitiers, mistress of King Henri II. Following Henri’s death, Diane was forced to exchange Chenonceau for the rather less grand château of Chaumont by the king’s scheming widow, Catherine de Médicis, who completed the construction and added the huge yew-tree labyrinth and the western rose garden. Louise of Lorraine’s most interesting contribution was her mourning room , on the top floor, all in black, to which she retreated when her husband, Henri III, was assassinated.
Chenonceau had an 18th-century heyday under the aristocratic Madame Dupin, who made the château a centre of fashionable society and attracted guests including Voltaire and Rousseau. Legend also has it that it was she who single-handedly saved the château from destruction during the Revolution, thanks to her popularity with local villagers.
The pièce de résistance is the 60m-long window-lined Grande Gallerie spanning the Cher, scene of many a wild party hosted by Catherine de Médicis or Madame Dupin. During WWII the Cher also marked the boundary between free and occupied France; local legend has it that the Grand Gallery was used as the escape route for many refugees fleeing the Nazi occupation.
The top floor of the gallery has a superb exhibition illustrating the château’s history. Chenonceau’s smartphone app gives general background only; the audioguide is better.
Skip the drab wax museum and instead visit the gardens : it seems as if there’s one of every kind imaginable (maze, English, vegetable, playground, flower…). In July and August the illuminated grounds are open for the Promenade Nocturne .
Croisières Fluviales La Bélandre offers 50-minute boat trips along the Cher River in summer, passing directly beneath the château’s arches.
