4 Surprising Reasons You’ll Want To Visit This French Chateau

The most beautiful chateau of the Loire is also the most interesting

What comes to mind when you picture France? Do you think of Emily in Paris? Maybe you imagine yourself topless on a beach in San Tropez? Or perhaps that time you broke your leg skiing in the Alps?

What about the French countryside? Quaint villages, historic larger villes, outdoor activities like kayaking, and other interesting things to do (wine tour!!).

And how about Donkeys? Divas? Drugs? Drill Sergeants?

The Loire Valley has all of this in one of the most spectacular fairytale castles in the world — Chenonceau —which holds a few surprises! This is going to be a whistle-stop tour so buckle up!

Donkeys

On arrival at Chenonceau, you’ll be greeted by a field of donkeys. This little fellow was especially happy to see us:

The donkeys are a low-key welcome to a high-class spot and are part of the home farm which would have supplied the chateau with food and flowers.

The farm consists of vegetable gardens, beehives, floral cutting gardens, medieval buildings, stables, goats and chickens, and a duck pond. There is an exhibition of carriage types through the ages and overall it’s just a relaxing place to hang out.

This place is so gorgeous and interesting you could just see the farm and go home happy. But wait, there’s more!

Design — and divas

Catherine de Medici, that famous Italian noble who became Queen of France, lived a spectacular life here at Chenonceau. She had tremendous style. Look at her cypher … looks awfully familiar! Just like Coco Chanel, she demanded the best and we can see this throughout the estate.

She was also very religious and the chapel inside the castle is spectacular to see. It’s one of the first spots everyone makes for during the timed entries to the chateau, so I recommend checking out a couple of the other nearby rooms first, then circling back to the chapel just before the next batch of times entry people arrive. That way it will be empty … like this …

Over the centuries the chateau has housed and hosted many monarchs. One of the most splendid rooms is the Louis XIV room, containing a spectacular portrait gifted by the Sun King after his visit. No shortage of ego there — look at that frame!

Drugs

I have a feeling Catherine di Medici may have been something of a hypochondriac, because she had her own apothecary. You have to admit it looks a whole lot nicer than CVS, Shoppers or Boots!

Reconstructed between 2016 and 2019, the oak and walnut cabinets in the room contain a vast array of flasks and jars which contained all the various remedies she relied on to maintain her health and perhaps to attempt to overcome the infamous infertility that plagued her early marriage. There are all sorts in here — Mercurius, Laudanum (I guess opiates never go out of fashion) and common herbs like Turmeric whose anti-inflammatory properties are now well known.

Drill Sergeants

Don’t miss a trip to the kitchens of the chateau. The copper pots and utensils make it very pretty, but imagine how busy and overheated it must have been as feasts were prepared for the royals and their guests! And you can bet that those kitchens were run with military precision.

Speaking of the military, you get to the kitchens via the long gallery. Aside from the fact that it is a wonderful room with delightful views across the formal gardens and the river, this room is interesting in that it was used as a makeshift hospital ward to treat wounded soldiers during WWI. During WW2 it formed the border between occupied Nazi France and Free France. Jewish people and others used to run through this room to escape the Nazis. Imagine!

Entering the kitchens you’ll be struck by how shiny all the copper pots are. Jelly molds, pizza cutters (really?) everything is made of copper. The construction of the automated spit for turning the meat in front of the huge fire is fascinating and I particularly enjoyed finding the trap door and pulley where goods must have been brought up the river then the boat moored under the ‘bridge’ section of the chateau and hoisted up into the kitchens.

What’s next?

After visiting the castle, if you’ve time, you can rent a rowing boat and go out on the river yourself, and a walk around the formal gardens and maze is fun.

We didn’t manage to go out in the river this time nor to go to the restaurant (which looked pretty great as you’d expect in France) but that just gives me something to look forward to next time. Can’t wait!

Have you been to Chenonceau? What was your favourite part?

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