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VISITING VILLANDRY

When we are bike touring, we usually don’t stop along the way to visit attractions/historic sites and so on (on cycling days). The main reason is that the days are long enough and progress would be very slow if we did. We usually save our exploring for our rest days. So, we decide on the different places/sites we want to visit on our route and plan our stops accordingly. This means we take rest days in towns/cities that we want to explore and on cycling days we just cycle! However, while bike touring in France, along the Loire, we made a couple of exceptions to this rule. One such exception was stopping to visit Villandry Château and Gardens and it was so worth it! According to their website a stroll around the gardens offers:
“… an opportunity to discover the synthesis of a Western garden through a series of gardens mainly in the Renaissance style, but also medieval, ornamental and contemporary.”

We were cycling from Saumur to Tours (78kms) on the day we stopped in Villandry. Saumur is a lovely town where we had enjoyed a rest day the day before.

One of the streets in Saumur.

Saturday market in Saumur.

On our way to Tours.

We had already agreed that we would visit the Château that day and that we would limit our visit to the gardens so as to not be too late arriving in Tours. This worked out perfectly for us and the Gardens were well worth the visit.

It was the end of July and the weather was glorious. Of course, we were hot and sweating a lot but we were not the only bike tourers to take a break at the Château, it was really busy.

We locked up our bikes and tried to make ourselves look somewhat respectable i.e. wiped off the sweat, ran our fingers through our helmet hair and applied more sun-cream. Then, with our tickets in hand (€7pp for the gardens) we simply wandered through the beautiful gardens taking a lot of photos, it was impossible not to!

While we easily could have spent longer and of course visited the Château as well, we were happy with what we saw. The gardens were bursting with colour and we loved how they had planted vegetables amongst the flowers in some areas. While it was busy as you can see, we were still able to get most of our photographs without anyone else in them.

Chateau de Chenonceau - Wonder of the Loire Valley or Ladies' Château

The Chateau de Chenonceau spans the River Cher.

Designed and owned by women only, Chenonceau is therefore also known as the Château des Dames - Ladies' Château.

Its architecture is a perfect combination of elegance, beauty and refinement that turn it into a superb illustration of French Renaissance.

French call it La Merveille du Val-de-Loire – the Wonder of the Loire Valley.

Tour Marques and castle

Grande Galerie

The Ladies of Chenonceau

Catherine Briçonnet

In the early 16th century, the Chateau de Chenonceau was not more than a fortified manor-house and its watermill.

Thomas Bohier bought the two buildings, which had fallen into an advanced state of disrepair, from the Lord of Marques.

Thomas Bohier's wife, Catherine Briçonnet, commissioned the construction of the pavilion with four corner towers on the foundations of the mill.

The ruined buildings were pulled down except for the well and the tower.

The Marques Tower was restored during the Renaissance.

The well is still adorned with the coat of arms of the Marques family, a chimera and an eagle.

The courtyard, enclosed by a moat, is located on the site of the old fortress.

Catherine added a feminine touch to the plans by focusing on comfort and luxury.

The monumental entrance is a masterpiece of the Renaissance.

It is also adorned with the coat of arms of Thomas and Catherine Bohier and is crowned by a salamander, the emblem of François I.

Catherine commissioned also the construction of the first straight staircase ever built in France.

However, in 1535 their penniless son sold Chenonceau to King François I who turned it into a hunting lodge.

Diane de Poitiers

François I's son, Henri II gave the Chateau de Chenonceau to his young mistress Diane of Poitiers.

A woman of talent and intelligence, Diane brilliantly took care of Chenonceau.

She indeed developed the vineyard and the farm and transformed them into a profitable business.

A woman of taste and luxury, she embellished the château, added the formal gardens and built a bridge across the River Cher.

The king was killed in a tournament in 1559.

Gardens

Grande Galerie

Catherine de Medici

His widow, Catherine of Medici, knew how much Diane was fond of the Chateau de Chenonceau.

She therefore spitefully exiled her to the Château de Chaumont sur Loire!

However, Diane chose to retire to the Château d'Anet, another present from the late king.

Catherine of Medici re-landscaped the park and added new buildings.

But above all, we owe her the famous Italian Renaissance style two-storey gallery that tops the bridge built by Diane.
A woman of pleasure and luxury, the queen organized numerous soirees, balls, banquets and fireworks which gave an air of pomp to Chenonceau.

Louise de Lorraine

The castle became a place filled with grief when Marie gave the Chateau de Chenonceau to her stepdaughter.

Louise de Lorraine indeed retired to Chenonceau after the assassination of her husband Henri III.

She also became known as the Reine Blanche - White Queen because she wore white clothes and had the ceilings repainted in white in sign of mourning.

Chambre des Cinq Reines

Françoise de Lorraine

When she died, her niece Françoise de Lorraine inherited Chenonceau, which was later acquired by the Farmer General Dupin.

Madame Dupin

His wife, Madame Dupin, took over the property; she founded a salon frequented by the most brilliant minds of the era.

Kept in high esteem by the villagers because of her charity work, Madame Dupin saved the Chateau de Chenonceau from demolition during the French Revolution.

Madame Pelouze

Madame Pelouze fell in love with the chateau and purchased it in 1864.

She spent a fortune restoring it to its former glory.

She removed the caryatids statues that framed the facade's windows and placed them in the park.

Tour Marques

Renaissance entrance door

Tour Marques

Chateau de Chenonceau

The elegant proportions and the gallery that spans the Cher are the castle's most photographed features!

Each year, they indeed attract thousands visitors from all around the world.

The interior decorations and furnishing boast the same elegance, refinement and luxury that the outside.

The Guard-room is decorated with a 16th century fireplace and magnificent Flemish tapestries.

The chapel's original stained glass windows were destroyed during WWII but were replaced in 1954.

Diane's Bedchamber is a gateway into the world of the favourite of Henri II.

Elegantly decorated with 16th century Flemish tapestries, the room is dedicated to the archives of the château.

Copies of the signatures of Diane and Bohier are also displayed in a glass cabinet.

The Library and the Bureau Vert exhibit more paintings and tapestries.

Francois I's Bedchamber is richly decorated.

It exhibits an impressive collection of paintings, furniture from the 15th and 16th centuries and a striking Renaissance fireplace with a mantle engraved with the motto of Thomas Bohier.

The impressive straight staircase climbs to the Five Queens' Bedroom (Catherine of Medici's two daughters and three daughters-in-law).

This room is decorated with Flemish tapestries and paintings by Rubens and Mignard.

Finally, the staircase serves also the bedrooms of Catherine of Medici, César de Vendôme, Gabrielle d'Estrées and Françoise de Lorraine.

Tour Marques and castle

Grande Galerie

The 60m long two-storey gallery that spans the Cher is known as Grande Galerie.

It was converted in a hospital during WWI and was used as a symbolic boundary between Free France and Occupied France during WWII.

A Wax Museum, open all year round, relates the story of the famous inhabitants of Chenonceau.

The Chateau de Chenonceau is today the property of the Miller family.

Here is a brief overview of the Loire Valley architectural styles.

Most castles were built between the late 15th century and 17th century.

They therefore are mostly Renaissance and Classical, however, many have retained Gothic features.

Most monastic buildings were pulled down at the French Revolution, but many churches escaped destruction as they were converted in barns.

Gothic architecture was locally adapted and gave rise to style unique to the region, Gothique Plantagenêt or Angevin style.

Here are a few basic facts to help you discover these styles' basic characteristics, without going into boring descriptions.

Romanesque

Loire Valley architectural styles - Romanesque

Romanesque appeared in the second half of the 10th century.

It reached its peak during the 12th century, when the monasteries were founded and the majestic cathedrals built.

Romanesque style expresses the 'Sacred' in a functional manner, based on harmony and balance.

Created in order to avoid structural fires so frequent at that time, it therefore introduced the systematic use of stone arches with buttressing.

Sculptures were kept to a minimum and placed at focal points.

Wide walkways and a large ambulatory facilitated large crowd movements.

Romanesque churches were, however, of human dimensions.

They were mostly built in the countryside and attached to a monastery.

Gothic

Loire Valley architectural styles - Gothic

Gothic lasted from the 12th to the 15th century.

Eight Crusades took place from 1096 to 1270 at the instigation of the Church of Rome in order to defend Christianity in the Middle East.

Crusaders returned with the rudiments of a new culture, which influenced the transition from Romanesque to Gothic.

Impressed by the sumptuous Arabic palaces, they indeed introduced the concepts of art and comfort.

They improved their dark castles with hanging tapestries tapestries, furnished them with elegant furniture and opened large windows to let light pour into their vast halls.

The advent of Gothic religious architecture resulted in the edification of the great cathedrals.

Columns with carved capitals supported the arches.

Ribbed vaults, externally reinforced by flying-buttresses, transferred the weight on the media angle.

Freed from the extra weight, the walls could therefore be pierced with numerous large windows that let the light pour into the building.

Towers and high spires projected their slender silhouette towards the sky, the symbol of the elevation of the human soul to God.

Gothic churches are often of gigantic dimensions because they were built in order to accommodate a growing population.

Some replaced the old Romanesque churches, but most were built in villages or cities.

Flamboyant also known as Era of Stonework Lace

Gothic

Loire Valley architectural styles - Angevin or Plantagenêt Gothic

Anjou developed his own version of the Gothic style in the late 12th century.

The Angevin or Plantagenêt Gothic style lasted for a century.

The major peculiarity of this transitional style are the vaults' keystones placed 3m above the supporting arches.
Loire Valley architectural styles - Flamboyant or High Gothic

The 15th century was 'the' High Gothic or Flamboyant century!

More colourful stained glass windows and rosettes opened the walls.

It also dropped the use of capitals, as the arches descended directly into the columns, thus creating an effect of continuity.

These were lavishly decorated with elaborate flame-shaped sculptures, hence its name, as Flamboyant means blazing.

The exuberant and lavish Flamboyant period is also known as the Era of Stonework Lace.

Early Renaissance

French Renaissance

Loire Valley architectural styles - French Renaissance

Until the 15th century books were handwritten, therefore very expensive.

The invention of printing in 1450 made them affordable to a wider audience.

The Greek scholars, driven from Constantinople by the Turks in 1453, found refuge in the Italian courts.

Once there, they re-introduced the ancient Greek and Roman cultures.

This period of re-invention became known as Rebirth or Renaissance.

Charles VII, Louis XII and François I were the protagonists of the French Renaissance.

Indeed, they were so impressed by Italian culture during their various military expeditions in the years 1480 to 1515, that they brought it back to France!

The kings and their vassals invited the best Italian artists to come and work for them.

Elegant palaces soon replaced their old castles; times were indeed safe so there was no more need for massive, dark and cold fortresses.

Men of the 16th century were on a quest for absolute harmony, beauty, light, space, comfort, leisure and luxury!

Medallions and low reliefs therefore adorned the facades of their palaces, and large windows flanked with pilasters open them.

Dormer-windows and carved chimneys decorated the pointed roofs.

Italian staircases, one of the most stunning architectural features of the Renaissance, appeared.

Renaissance castles were not always built on a promontory, but often at the edge of a lake and elegantly blended with their environment.

Their gardens reflected the taste for nature tamed by man.

They indeed made great use of flower beds edged with boxwood (Jardin à la Française) as well as ponds, sculptured fountains and statues.

The French kings built Amboise, Chambord with its double-helix staircase and Blois ... the great lords built Azay-le-Rideau and its amazing straight boxed-ceiling staircase and Chenonceau...

Classical

Loire Valley architectural styles - Classical

Antiquity fully inspired this style which sprawled on the 17th and 18th centuries.

Classical is defined by the elegance, majesty, sobriety, symmetry, balance and purity of form!

It indeed make great use of the three Greek architectural orders, Doric, Ionic and Corinthian.

These are indeed often superimposed on pediments in secular buildings.

Classical religious architecture is equally elegant.

Many churches enlarged during that period indeed boast impressive domes and volumes.

Amboise Castle has a long history!

The Gauls indeed built a fortress on the promontory overlooking the Loire and its valley.

The Romans replaced it with a fortified camp, built a bridge across the river and charged a toll for the transportation of goods.

The Count of Amboise built a fortress in the 11th century.

Charles VII seized it in 1422 and his son Louis XI rebuilt it.

His grand-son Charles VIII was born and died in Amboise, and discovered the Italian Renaissance during his military expeditions in the 1490s.

Impressed by the elegance and refinement of this new style, he therefore commissioned a series of alterations and improvements which turned Amboise in a perfect illustration of Early Renaissance architecture!

These included the Gothic wing that faces the river, the Tour des Minimes, the Oratory of Anne de Bretagne and a wide array of lavish furniture.

Finally, the king commissioned Italian gardeners with the landscaping of the gardens.

Amboise Castle was almost finished when he died in 1498.

Amboise Castle in the 16th century

Amboise Castle - Gothic Wing

The Gothic wing overlooks the Loire.

It flanks the Tour des Minimes or Tour des Cavaliers (horsemen tower), the original entrance to the castle.

Riders indeed entered the premises riding on a ramp located inside the tower.

The top of the tower and the battlements boast prime views of the valley.

Flemish masters created the Oratoire d' Anne de Bretagne, which is considered a superb illustration of Flamboyant Gothic style.

The Salle des Etats (Hall of State) is a large hall with brick and stone walls and a vaulted ceiling supported by columns.

It was the scene of a historic event known as Conspiracy of Amboise.

In 1560 a group of Protestants indeed went to Blois in order to ask Francois II for the freedom of religion.

However, spies discovered that some of these Protestants plotted to assassinate the Duke of Guise, the leader of the Catholic party.

The king escaped to Amboise Castle with his Court, but the conspirators followed him.

However, they were captured, tried and hanged from the balcony of the Salle des Etats.

This balcony has since been known as Balcon des Conspirateurs (Conspirators' Balcony).

The Edict of Amboise, an edict of pacification signed by the king in 1563, ended this episode of the War of Religions.

Abd-el-Kader, the leader of the Algerian resistance against the French presence, was jailed in the (converted) Salle des Etats from 1848 to 1852.

Renaissance fireplace

Chapelle Saint-Hubert

Renaissance wing

Charles VIII's successor, Louis XII built the Renaissance wing at right angle with the Gothic wing.

François I was very fond of Amboise Castle and added an upper floor to the Renaissance wing.

The great patron of the French Renaissance, indeed spent his youth and lived there during the first five years of his reign.

A Man of pleasure, luxury and beauty, the charismatic king brought prestige to Amboise, where he gave lavish festivities.

The Protector of Arts and Letters and a knowledgeable and refined man, François I spent his life surrounded by the best minds of his era.

He therefore invited Leonardo da Vinci to move to the nearby Clos Luçé.

The king regularly visited the old artist, using a secret passage that connects the castle with Le Clos Luçé.

Louis XIII bequeathed the chateau to his brother Gaston d'Orléans, who spent most of his life plotting against his own brother!

As retaliation, the king sent his troops who fired on the chateau and sadly destroyed the ramparts!

Amboise Castle eventually returned to the French Crown.

In the early 19th century, Napoleon I bequeathed Amboise to the penniless Roger Ducros, a member of the Directory government, who turned it into a stone quarry!

All that is therefore left of the chateau are the Logis du Roi, Gothic and Renaissance wings, Tour Heurtault on the rampart and Chapelle St-Hubert.

The private apartments on the upper floor of the Renaissance wing were later redecorated in Empire style for Louis-Philippe.

Gardens and terraces were landscaped on the site of the former buildings.

They boast prime views of the Loire and roofs of the medieval city.

It is said that the Flamboyant Gothic Chapelle St-Hubert, built in 1491 for Ann of Brittany shelters the tomb of Leonardo da Vinci.

Amboise Castle belongs to the St-Louis Foundation, a trust founded by the Count of Paris in order to preserve the French national heritage.

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