yes, i have a passion for castles, so not only did we visit the chateau de st germain, but we also visited the chateau de villandry. the chateau de villandry is a castle in the loire valley. there are castles at almost every street corner in that area but we only had time to visit one!
From wiki:
The Château de Villandry is a castle-palace located in Villandry. The lands where an ancient fortress once stood were known as Colombier until the 17th century. Acquired in the early 16th century by Jean Le Breton, France's Controller-General for War under King Francis I, a new chateau was constructed around the original 14th-century keep. The château remained in the Le Breton family for more than two centuries until it was acquired by the Marquis de Castellane. During the French Revolution the property was confiscated and in the early 19th century Emperor Napoleon acquired it for his brother.
In 1906, Joachim Carvallo purchased the property and poured an enormous amount of time, money and devotion into repairing it and creating what many consider to be the most beautiful gardens anywhere. Its famous Renaissance gardens include a water garden, ornamental flower gardens, and vegetable gardens. The gardens are laid out in formal patterns created with low box hedges.
Still owned by the Carvallo family, the Château de Villandry is open to the public and is one of the most visited châteaux in France.
As we noticed, the family doesn't actually live in the castle itself, but in some buildings that were once for farming or servants. We only visited the main castle.
the castle facade
some "outbuildings" to the right of the castle where we think the family now lives.
a view of the right wing of the castle and the 14th century keep (in the back) and the moat surrounding the castle.
the kitchen, my favorite room. the wonderful collection of copper pots and the gorgeous wooden furniture and old fashioned tiled floor.
the fireplace in the kitchen, which was the primary stove and oven. i would love to have that in my kitchen to let simmer my soups!
the view from the top of the keep!
a view of the gardens from the masters bedroom. what wonderful detail... in the summer it is filled with color!
some other châteaux i would love to visit:
- Château de Chenonceau (we were supposed to go saturday, but we ran out of time...)
- Château de Val
- Château de Cordes (we actually went once, but it was closed...)
- Château d'Azay-le-Rideau
- Château d'Amboise
- Château de Sully-sur-Loire
- Château Royal de Blois
- Château d'Anet
- Château de Fontainebleau
- Château de Vaux le Vicomte
- many others...
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