Loches

As we left Chenonceau, we took a back road down towards Loches. After consulting my helpful Rick Steves France book, I discovered we were in luck because Loches has a street market on Wednesdays and Saturdays. It was Wednesday so we decided to stop and see what we could find. The book said it was an overlooked town that makes a good base for drivers who want to see a lot of the Loire Valley region. It is set on the Indre River and is just a quaint town with few tourists.

Chateau de Loches - we did not go in, but the book said it was worth a visit.

 We ended up getting some "saucisson" and "fromage" (cheese), bread, and a great looking pear, and taking it back for a quick little picnic in the car. It really was neat walking around the market and interacting with the locals. If we go back to France, I would love to spend more time in this area visiting the small towns. As much as I loved Paris, it was really neat to be in the smaller towns.

View from our drive. We left Loches and headed south to San Sebastian, Spain. This is as we were getting into Spain I believe. We drove over 5 hours and over 600 kilometers that day!

Chateau de Chenonceau

Our last chateau in the Loire Valley was Chateau de Chenonceau.  It was built in the 15th century in Renaissance style and was built to be arched over the Cher River. This chateau has been maintained perfectly. It was just picture perfect. It is actually known as "the chateaux of the ladies" since it houses numerous famous women over its many centuries.

You approach the chateau down a beautiful tree lined path, then cross over three moats and two bridges to enter. The Marques tower in the front was original from the early 15th century and when the chateau was built in the 16th century, they kept the tower and built the rest of the palace in the same style.

 The chapel survived the vandalism of the French Revolution because the lady of the palace filled it with firewood and when the rioters came all they saw was wood - nothing royal or religious. The windows were blown out during World War II and are replacements done in the 1950s.

 If you looked in the corners you could see the detailed tile floors that used to be all over the chateau.

 There were fresh flowers all over the palace. They were in every room and were absolutely beautiful. This is Diane de Poitiers' bedroom, King Henri II's favorite lady. The four poster bed is from the Renaissance period.

 This is the green study - Catherine de'Medici's study in the 16th century.

 

 The whole palace was impeccably maintained and the kitchen was decorated as it would be in the grand days of the chateau. This was the dining room for employees only.

 A 16th century Italian cabinent.

 The Five Queens Bedroom - given this name in memory of Catherine de' Medici's two daughers and three daughters-in-laws. 

This is a Renaissance fireplace  and the tapestries are part of the 16th century tapestry that illustrates The Life of Samson.

 The river actually marked the border between free and Nazi France during World War II.

 Catherine de' Medici's Garden 

 Diane de Poitiers' Garden

 Second Floor Hall

 That is the old fortified castle and mill that was left when Chenonceau was built.

 There is also a vegetable and flower garden that was fun to walk through and take pictures of the beautiful and unique flowers.

 We couldn't figure out what these were...

Chateau de Chenonceau did not disappoint! We were very impressed by it as we were told we would be. This is one not to miss in the Loire Valley!