A Ramble to the Loire Valley

We took a three-night road trip last week to the Loire Valley. It was a terrific trip; one of those where nothing goes wrong, the weather was great, sights were beautiful and historic and interesting. When we got back, we sat on our little terrace, had a glass of wine and said we didn’t know how the trip could have been better.

The Loire Valley, which lies east-west two to three hours south of here, is home to many of the most interesting chateaux in France. This is because in the 1400s, as the central government of France formed and strengthened, the monarchy lived in the Loire Valley. Chateaux built during this time were defensive military structures, meant to maintain control of the country.

When the monarchy was secure in its role – in the late 1400s and early 1500s – having taken away the power of the local feudal lords, the chateaux no longer needed to be defensive structures. About this time the Renaissance arrived in France and the chateaux went from being secure fortresses to beautiful residences. Local aristocratic families had a ton of money – often way more than the king – and so they built Renaissance chateaux to live the good life and show off their wealth.

We visited four chateaux on our ramble. (Long ago we chose to limit ourselves to one a day; that’s all our brains and eyes and legs can take.) The first – Cheverny – and last – Azay-le-Rideau – are pure Renaissance palaces. The second – Blois – was built in the 1400s to militarily control the Loire River and its valley; additions and modifications in the 1500s brought Renaissance in new wings of the chateau. The third – Amboise – was also originally built for military purposes, and had Renaissance flourishes added in subsequent centuries. For each one I’ll do a short post, with pictures, because pictures are far better than words at describing these places.

First up: Chateau de Cheverny.