Le Château de Villandry

Last weekend, I went on for a balade à vélo, a bike ride,  to visit the Castle of Villandry. Of all the castles I’ve visited so far, this would have to be one of my favourites. The audio guide was informative and simple to use, the décor was beautiful and all the windows looked out onto the beautiful gardens.

Ornate roof

Crowded stairway

Tiling

Matchstick model of the Castle- it took 6000 hours to build!

Beautiful carved roof of one of the galleries

Gorgeous flowers

The library. The fireplace, like most of those in the castle, has a marble table top, but the surrounding pieces are wood, simply painted to match.

One of the many paintings on display

Trompe d’oeil blue sky ceiling

An old depiction of the castle grounds

Bouquets everwhere

The dining room

We were lucky enough to visit at a time when there was a concert being held in the salon. Two local singers and a pianist performed a range of pieces, many of them to do with the history of the castle, it’s inhabitants and the Touraine region. My favourite was La Chanson de la Touraine,  which is an ode to the region that draws inspiration from the story of Panurge and Pantagruel by François Rabelais – very proud and over the top. My favourite lines include:

Touraine est un pays Au ciel bleu …. Rien ne la vaut !

Touraine is a country of blue sky … nothing beats it!

Les blés y sont plus hauts et les femmes plus belles !

The wheat is taller and the women prettier!

C’est un vrai paradis ! un paradis!

It’s a true paradise! A paradise!

I’m not sure about the arguments for why it’s such a paradise (I haven’t been watching the women, nor have I seen any wheat growing) but I still agree: it’s a beautiful place to be. It was fantastic to hear some live music, and to think of all the similar concerts and evenings that would have taken place in this castle over the centuries.

Château Langeais

The castle viewed from the ruins of an old building

A Saturday outing to another castle on the Loire. This time, not only did we visit the castle and it’s grounds, we were also treated to a wine tasting of 3 wines produced in the nearby township of Azay-le-Rideau. Being here can be surreal sometimes – I’m doing so many wonderful things.

The drawbridge

A treehouse!

The township

View of the castle from the grounds

Ruins in the castle grounds

Le Château d’Amboise

Less than an hour’s drive from Tours, the Château d’Amboise is magnificent. The day trip was part of the Cultural Program that’s available for exchange students. We explored the castle and its grounds and were treated to a guided tour (in French, not English- which made me very happy) that revealed a lot about the history of the castle and its various inhabitants over the years. I was fascinated to learn that today only 25% remains of the previous castle structure. The majority of the castle was destroyed soon after the French revolution by anti-monarchists and revolutionaries who wanted to erase all vestiges of the previous regime, including the castle of Amboise, once a favoured residence of the king.