What To Do In The Loire Valley

The Loire valley, just a couple hours south of Paris, is probably most widely known for the many world-class wines it produces, is also known for some of the most opulent palace homes in Europe. If you’re looking to “take a break,” and are in the mood to sip some rosé at a riverside cafe, or for walking the halls of the palaces scattered through the area, it won't take long to become intoxicated with an attitude of “la vie en rosé.”

French Château

While driving through the countryside, several differences between French and American navigation become apparent. The first being the absence of visual clutter. No billboards or non-government signage, and what little you do see, is limited to necessary road signs, or for navigating to historical sites or parks.

Fortunately, many chateaus fall under this category, so you’ll regularly see road signs for homes that you probably didn’t hear anything about while doing your internet research.

The second is the absence of police or any kind of physical law enforcement. Driver beware, France uses an unforgiving camera system, so you might discover one or more speeding tickets in four to eight weeks after you get home from vacation. It will take time to arrive, as it must navigate through your rental car company first, who will also charge you a fee for handling the ticket transfer to you in the States.

That said, of the chateau that I knew about ahead of time, a tour of Chenonceau was at the top of my list, and I wanted to treat any additional tours a little more spontaneously. Fortunately, it was a good idea to only plan the one large chateau tour, because the combination of a large and small (less popular) home, is an ideal way to spend a full day.

Château d’Azay le Rideau

Having previously decided to be flexible about whatever chateau we toured in addition to Chenonceau, it was suggested to us by someone more familiar with the area, that we tour Azay le Rideau. Much less touristy, while still being straight out of a storybook, it was our first stop on our home tour.

The history of this home and the “regular” people that built and lived in it was fascinating. I greatly enjoyed my time here, and am still drooling over the floors and wallpaper!

Château de Chenonceau

I’ve long thought that this particular chateau was especially dreamy, and seeing it in person didn’t disappoint. If you do a little research on the history, you’ll find that it was a gift to a mistress of King Henry II, lived here. However, when the king died, better believe that the Queen (Catherine de' Medici) took a special interest in this place, and made sure that it was thoroughly understood that this was her house.

Further, I didn’t expect that the house would be regularly ornamented with fresh flowers and vegetation (and I’m not talking the kind from Trader Joe’s). Every room of this palatial palace had amazing floral arrangements, most (if not all) of which were grown on the grounds.

Despite the shocking absence of a Vitamix, this is kitchen goals for sure!

The Gardens of Chenonceau

Honestly, the gardens weren’t even on my radar, but after we had finished our tour and went back outside, golden hour had illuminated everything in such a romantic way that I couldn’t make myself beeline it back to the car. Fortunately, half of our party was also feeling the need to meander our way in that general direction and explore the grounds a bit.

There is another chateau that I would like to see on future trips, but seeing both of these filled an entire day, I couldn’t justify devoting additional days to touring more of them. That said, I’d love to hear your feedback about any not mentioned, that you might have enjoyed on your travels.

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