The facade of Château de Chambord
Château d'Azay le Rideau, surrounded by water
One of the rooms at Château de Valençay
lobby of hotel, Château d'ArtignyThe best thing about living in Paris is that within less than a few hours drive by car, you are able to discover many regions of France that will take your breath away. One weekend earlier in the year, my husband and I decided to spend a weekend away from Paris to checkout the Loire Valley. We diligently picked out the castles that we wanted to see, and narrowed it down to 4- Château de Chambord, Château de Valençay, Château de Chenonceau and Château d'Azay le Rideau.
Ohhhhh I felt like a 5 year old pretend princess all over again! The castles were all very well maintained, my mind went wild imagining the lives princesses and princes and queens and kings had! The natural beauty that surrounds these castles are astounding, hectares of land that used to be the area where the Kings and noblemen hunted. The kitchens reminded me of the movie Vatel, the bedrooms were right out of a Disney cartoon and the gardens, well, fit for royalty.
The best way to go around is of course by car, but there are many tour operators that are based in Paris who organize these tours. I would recommend staying at least one night in the region, for as soon as the excitement and adrenaline runs out, it gets very tiring. The castles do not come cheap, it costs between EUR8 and EUR15 per adult for entrance.
There are newer castles from the 18th and 19th century that has been turned into hotels, one of which is Château d'Artigny where we stayed. I used Relais & Chateaux's and Small Leading Hotels of the World's websites when looking for hotels in the region.
Ohhhhh I felt like a 5 year old pretend princess all over again! The castles were all very well maintained, my mind went wild imagining the lives princesses and princes and queens and kings had! The natural beauty that surrounds these castles are astounding, hectares of land that used to be the area where the Kings and noblemen hunted. The kitchens reminded me of the movie Vatel, the bedrooms were right out of a Disney cartoon and the gardens, well, fit for royalty.
The best way to go around is of course by car, but there are many tour operators that are based in Paris who organize these tours. I would recommend staying at least one night in the region, for as soon as the excitement and adrenaline runs out, it gets very tiring. The castles do not come cheap, it costs between EUR8 and EUR15 per adult for entrance.
There are newer castles from the 18th and 19th century that has been turned into hotels, one of which is Château d'Artigny where we stayed. I used Relais & Chateaux's and Small Leading Hotels of the World's websites when looking for hotels in the region.
Photos by Me
Oh God,I looove Château
ReplyDeleteMe too! I want to be a princess in the 17th century!!
ReplyDeleteloveeeee the photos! i wanna go there in when im in france next!
ReplyDeletewe will take you there NO PROB
ReplyDelete