Tom's Little Travel Journal

While strolling around in downtown Tours, I ran into Sylvia, an old friend who had moved here a few years ago. Since we had a lot to catch up, we decided to spend a day hanging out. Sylvia thought le Château de Chenonceau would be a cool place to hangout. So off to Touraine we went (only 35km from Tours).

A good spot for a picnic, if you can get away with it

Château de Chenonceau is one of the most popular château in France. And I could see why. The beauty and of this château was most captivating. It was tons better than being in Disneyland. The architecture was original and had real history - not a replica! The moment I entered the front gate I felt like I was back in the Renaissance time, especialy at the sight of the Marques Tower.

The château's history dated back to the XIth Century. The Chenonceau was built on the piers of an old fortified mill and was a property of the Marques family for a couple hundred years. In 1513, Pierre Marques was in deep doo-doo with his debts. Came along to the 'rescue' was a tax collector from Normandie named Thomas Bohier, who bought the château from Pierre Marques (wonder how much did he paid for this joint). Bohier left his "signature" on the front entrance of the castle in the carved doors carrying his coat of arms on the left door and his wife's on the right. Bohier's arms could also be found above the fire place in the Guard's Room, once used by the King's "secret service". The château also houses a chapel, which was saved during the French Revolution by a clever move by Madame Dupin, who turned the château into a wood store during this turbulent time. My favorite was the Library once used by Catherine Briçonnet, Thomas Bohier's wife, who was largely responsible for the reconstruction of the Chenonceau during her husband's absence. When you enter the library, you may be captured by the spectacular view of the Cher and Diane's Garden. But what made this room special, at least to me, was the beautiful XVIth Century oak coffer ceiling.

The most distinctive feature of the Chenonceau, in my opinion, is the Gallery. Spanning across the Cher, this section of the château gives the Chenonceau a unique expression of elegance and grace. The Gallery was built on the bridge of Diane de Poitiers in 1576 and completed in 1577, in time for a grand party hosted by Catherine de Médici, mother of King Henry III. The Gallery was intended as a magnificient ballroom (60m long and 6m wide). During WWI the Gallery was used as a hospital, a self-funded operation of the then owner, Monsieur Gaston Menier. The Gallery again played an important role during WWII. This time, it served as a "passage" to the "free zone" (people could escape through the Gallery as its south end led to the un-occupied zone while the château's entrance was under the Nazi's control).

There are many interesting rooms and halls at Chenonceau. It'd take a whole day (or more) to fully appreciate the beauty of the château, not mentioning the beautiful garden and the surrounding areas.

A view of Chenonceau from our rowboat as we were floating down the Cher.

Did you know the Chenonceau was once home of the king's mistresses? For this reason, Chenonceau was also known as le Château des Dames (Castle of the Ladies). il est merveilleux pour être roi!

After a long day full of wonders, we rewarded ourselves with a sampling of local wines - they were among the world's best! Here were what we sampled: white chardonnay, white chenin, red cabernet franc, red camay, and red grolleau. Then later in the evening, we ventured in a cute little restaurant and indulged ourselves with tarragon chicken in wine cream accompanied by sauvignon blanc. Clafoutis aux cerises was a nice conclusion to this wonderful meal(gotta have desserts in France!).

Les Français savent vivre une bonne vie!