Excursion to the Castles of the Loire Valley

After a week and a half of orientation at IES Abroad Nantes, I had the opportunity to participate in an excursion to the Centre-Val de Loire to visit three of the 16th-century castles in the UNESCO World Heritage-listed region.

We departed from Nantes early on the morning of Saturday, January 17th, in a chartered bus that took us directly to the first castle on the itinerary, Azay-le-Rideau. After about a two-hour ride, we arrived at the site and split into two groups for a guided tour of the castle.

The Château d’Azay-le-Rideau was constructed between 1518 and 1527 on a small island in the Indre River. It was built and occupied by Gilles Berthelot, Treasurer of France, as a private residence that displayed his wealth and status. 

After crossing the drawbridge over the moat, our guide pointed out the eclectic design features characteristic of the early Renaissance, including depictions of Roman soldiers, references to Botticelli’s Birth of Venus, and French heraldic imagery, such as the iconic salamander of Francis I, carved above the main door. 

The main entrance led us directly to a staircase to the highest floor, where we passed through various rooms arranged to represent different time periods during which the site was occupied. The Renaissance-era bedrooms were decorated with enormous tapestries from the era, depicting scenes from Greek and Roman mythology.

After Bethelot fell out of royal favor, the chateau passed through several noble families. The parlor and pool room were furnished with 1800s exhibit pieces to represent the Biencourt family, who restored and lived in the castle for over a century, until it was purchased by the French State in 1905 to become a museum.

After our tour, we had lunch at a restaurant in the medieval town, which I learned had been nicknamed Azay-le-Brûlé, after Charles VII burned the original fortress that stood there during

The Hundred Years’ War (not to be confused with a separate town currently named Azay-le-Brûlé that was burned on a separate occasion).

We then visited the Château de Chenonceau, about 40 minutes from Azay-le-Rideau, for a self-guided tour of the castle and its extensive grounds. The core of the chateau was built between 1513 and 1517 by Katherine Briçonnet as a Renaissance residence and a bridge over the Cher River. It is called the “Château des Dames,” as it was inhabited and expanded by a series of prominent women throughout its history.

After Katherine had owned it, Henri II gifted the castle to Diane de Poitiers in 1547, who added gardens and the famous arched bridge. After Henri’s death, it was then seized by Catherine de Medici, who oversaw a dramatic expansion of the chateau. Later residents included Louise de Lorraine; Louise Dupin, who hosted Enlightenment thinkers such as Jean Jacques Rousseau; and the Menier family, who owned a large chocolate enterprise. 

The castle was used as a military hospital during the First World War, and stood directly across the demarcation line in the Second World War, which separated the autonomous Vichy France on the south bank from the occupied zone of the north of the country. Because of this, the French Resistance used the gallery of the castle as a passage for smuggling people and equipment.

The extensive history of the castle and its proprietors was outlined in the gallery in a large timeline display that included relevant artifacts from each time. 

The chateau itself closed at 5 P.M., and we spent the remaining half hour traversing the gardens, which included several outer buildings with unique historical displays as well as a farm pasture with donkeys and a topiary labyrinth.

We then drove to the medieval town of Blois, where we checked into the Hôtel Ibis and spent an hour exploring the area independently before meeting for dinner at a nearby restaurant called L’Hôte Antique. 

IES Nantes had preselected the table d’hôte menu for each restaurant on the trip, which offered a predetermined appetizer, entree and dessert dish with no substitutions except for dietary restrictions. I enjoyed the meals, and the portions were enough for each day. 

The following morning, we had a self-serve breakfast at the hotel before departing for the final destination of the trip, the Château de Chambord. 

Chambord is a massive royal hunting lodge that began construction in 1519 for King Francis I. It was also inhabited several times by Louis XIV and Marshal General of France Maurice de Saxe. The chateau is the second most visited castle in France, after Versailles, and is famous for its mammoth size and elaborate double-helix staircase. 

There are several rooms with different displays on the extensive history of the site, including a large painting gallery, a room about hunting and local wildlife, and a stage modeled after the one where Molière had performed for Louis XIV when he was at Chambord.

While there, we had a few hours to explore freely with an audio guide before meeting to eat. Lunch was particularly special, as we were seated in a private room inside the castle itself, adorned with original tapestries and stag antlers on the stone walls.

Afterward, we returned to Nantes in about three and a half hours on the bus, stopping along the way at a rest area.

The Loire Valley trip was a great opportunity to spend time with other students in the program while discovering the rich history of the greater region. All 32 students went on the trip, and we are eager for the next IES excursion to Bordeaux in the coming weeks.