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For
those of you who wish to enjoy a little culture, there are many
beautiful Châteaux in this region, the most popular being:
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Château de Villandry. |
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A wonderful restored
Renaissance château and garden, built on flat land by the banks of the River
Cher near to where it joins the River Loire. The property
passed through many hands and suffered many changes before it
was bought in 1906 by the present owner's grandfather Dr Joachim
Carvallo, a Spaniard who had come to France to study medicine.
He meticulously restored the buildings and made the garden that
we see today, influenced by the book 'Les Plus Excellents
Bâtiments de France' by J. A. du Cerceau (c1515-c84). |
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Château
d'Ussé.
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Château was the inspiration for Charles Perrault’s folk tale “Sleeping Beauty”. |
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Château
de Chenonceau. |
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In a superb setting and very romantic on a summers evening,
everyone loves this Château, and gardens, you can hire
rowing boats or take boat trips on the river, which the children
love. There is also a good restaurant in the grounds, or if you
prefer to picnic there are a number of tables in
shady places, situated near the main gates. |
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Château
d'Amboise. |
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Although all but the
royal apartments are still in ruins, this 15th century structure,
is an awesome site. Leonardo da Vinci spent the last three years
of his life here. The main street, which lies along the base of
the Château at first seems quite touristy, but there are some
nice shops, wonderful cafés, and a few terrific restaurants. |
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Château
de Brézé. |
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For those of you with children
the Château at
Brézé, is in two parts, both above and below
ground, where there is an old medieval château, where hundreds of
people lived many years ago, this has proved very popular with
guests children, as their imagination goes wild!! It’s also
great for the adults as you can taste and buy the wine they have
for sale, which is a lovely fruity white, superb on a summers
evening. |
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| Château de Saumur.
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A majestic Château, with stunning views overlooking the town and River
Loire, in the Château itself there is a porcelain collection of
miniatures. In the grounds
there is a lovely tearoom restaurant where you can sit on the terrace
and enjoy the spectacular views.
There
is much to do and see in Saumur which is our nearest town, it is home to
the famous Cadre Noir,
who host horsemanship shows each July, for more information visit
www.ville-saumur.fr
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Other Châteaux in the region include:
Azay Le Rideau,
Montsoreau. Loches, Blois, Le Lude,
Chambord,
Cheverny,
Sully, Angers, Beauregard,
Chinon,
Valençay, Fonte, Montgeoffroy, Ferte-St-Aubin, Chamerolles,
Brissac and Gien.
You can get more
information at
www.chateauxloire.com
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You
can also find smaller family owned Châteaux, which are open to the
public. Not a
Château,
but a superb piece of architecture and well worth a visit is the
historical
Fontevraud
Abbey, and associated with Richard the Lion heart and
Eleanor of Aquitaine, it has had a lot of money spent on restoring it in
the last few years, making it hard to believe that this beautiful place
was used as a prison until 1974.
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