What to do and see in Loir-et-Cher, Centre-Val de Loire: The Best Castles

Le château de Meslay est un château, monument historique français, situé à Meslay dans le Loir-et-Cher en France. Le site (parc, jardins, Loir) est classé depuis 1943. Le château lui même a été inscrit à l'inventaire supplémentaire des monuments historiques en 1995 puis classé intérieurs-extérieurs comme Monument Historique en 2017. Le château est dans la même famille depuis plus de 300 ans. La visite guidée des intérieurs du château est possible du 16 juin au 12 septembre 2021 à 11h, à 15h ou à 16h30.

Although built at the same time of the great castles in the Loire valley, Talcy remains untouched by the popular Italian style and its love of decoration. The wells, outhouses including press and dovecote and the garden all emphasize the rural nature of the estate. The castle has retained its interior decoration and furniture from the 18th century. Site with the "Outstanding Garden" label. Open: > 2nd May to 4th September: from 9.30 a.m. to 12.30 p.m. and from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. > 5th September to 30th April: from 10 a.m. to 12.30 p.m. and from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. Last admission 1 hr before closing time. Closed: > Tuesdays from 1st October to 31st March. > 1st January, 1st May and 25th December. Admission fees: Adults : 5,50 €; Concessions (18 to 25) = 4 €; Free admission: minors under 18*; Free admission: 18-25 years old* (citizens of one of the 27 countries of the EU or are non-European permanent residents of France) * excluding school groups

Come and discover the first private home to open its doors to the public in 1922. You will appreciate the splendour and delight of real life in a castle. The owners invite you to discover this fantastic and vivid heritage: from the botanical park to the magnificent interior of the Château; the hunting dog kennels to Tintin's exhibition and the gardens through to the forest. The Château displays a wonderful range of furniture and interior decoration, all of which are remarkably well preserved. The private apartments on the first floor convey the French ‘art de vivre’ Many treasures can be found at Cheverny like a 17th century Gobelin tapestry for example, on display in the Arms room or the Louis XIV chest of drawers in the Boulle style. And you may even spend the night in one of our modern flats with top of the range furniture !

A small fortified castle built in the second half of the 15th century and the beginning of the 16th, Fougères with its machicolated entrance curtain and keep, is the perfect example of the art of rural buildings. All rooms in the château are opened to visitors in addition to the attics medieval garden. The castle's roofs are open for visits. Open: > 8th May to 10th September: from 9.30 a.m. to 12.30 p.m. and from 2 p.m. to 6.30 p.m. > 11th September to 7th May: from 10 a.m. to 12.30 p.m. and from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. Last admission 30 minutes before closing time. Closed: > Tuesdays from 11th September to 7th May. > 1st January, 1st May, 1st November, 11th November and 25th December. Admission fees: Adults : 5,50 €; Concessions (18 to 25) = 4 €; Free admission: minors under 18*; Free admission: 18-25 years old* (citizens of one of the 27 countries of the EU or are non-European permanent residents of France) * excluding school groups

Aux portes du Val de Loire, le château royal de Blois présente un véritable panorama de l'art et de l'histoire des châteaux de la Loire, ce qui en fait la meilleure introduction à leur visite par sa richesse architecturale. Autour de la cour, dominée par le monumental escalier François Ier, se déploie un florilège de quatre styles de l'architecture française, le style gothique avec la salle des Etats généraux, les prémices de l'influence italienne avec l'aile Louis XII, Renaissance dans l'aile François Ier et enfin classique avec l'aile bâtie par Mansart pour le duc d'Orléans. Résidence de sept rois et de dix reines de France, le château royal est le lieu évocateur du pouvoir et de la vie quotidienne de la cour à la Renaissance, comme en témoignent les appartements royaux, meublés et ornés de magnifiques décors polychromes.

Chambord is the emblem of the French Renaissance through Europe and the world. The Domain of Chambord is made up of the château, a village, farms and a wooded area. The domain of Chambord is completely enclosed within a wall, all 5,440 hectares of it. That’s the equivalent of the city of Paris! It is the largest enclosed forest in Europe. The entire site has been the property of the state since 1930; when the public estate was created, article 230 of the law dated 23 February 2005 stated that the possessions making up the domain were given over to it without restriction or exceptions.

Historical monument, the smallest of the chateaux of the Loire has a history that dates 600 years back and brings a mosaic of ancient decors from more than 10 chateaux of the Loire destroyed after the French revolution and collected by the historian Louis de La Saussaye at the XIXth century. Sold only twice in its history, it is in the same family for 600 years. The old winery is a small jewel of refinement with decors of Elements sparking great artistic and cultural interest, it is a haven of peace in its green setting surrounded by vineyards. Opened for business for 40 years, his visit shows a set of architectural interest and al English park with rare species as well as a chicken coop. Its soft atmosphere of intimate and personal dwelling is a refinement for lovers of subtlety and wellbeing. The guided tour lasts about 40 minutes and can remain stroll or picnic in the English park al. Since May 2015, the young owner opened among other things of bed and breakfast and cottages for contrinuer has maintained its field in good condition and make it live and it is a small business.

A CASTLE THAT YOU CAN VISIT AND HAVE FUN! ! ! Willy and the Knight's Quest: During nearly 3 hours, discover with Willy and his companions a fabulous course of 28 puzzles and games-challenges. This chivalrous quest will lead you from the outbuildings, through the most beautiful rooms of the Castle, in the wooded park of 18 ha. With family or friends, it is undoubtedly an original way to combine History and Games for a general discovery of a majestic site. The Château des Enigmes-Val de Loire, a Château unlike any other ...

Less than 200 kilometres south of Paris, nestling between the cities of Tours and Blois, is a haven of poetry. A natural oasis, a headland stretching out 40 metres above the wild Loire, Domaine de Chaumont-sur-Loire, owned by the Centre Region, welcomes the public all year round to its chateau and park and, from April to the end of October, to the unmissable International Garden Festival. Whatever the season, the chateau - once the home of Catherine de Medici, Diane de Poitiers and Princess de Broglie - beckons you indoors to admire its welcoming and lavishly furnished interiors. The International Garden Festival has been providing a unique panorama of landscape design all over the world since 1992. At the same time a source of ideas and a nursery for talent, the Festival gives an extra boost to the art of gardens and gains the interest of both the public and those in the trade by displaying new flower arrangements, new materials, new ideas and new approaches. The diversity and the high quality of the projects have contributed to the Festival's international reputation, which has become an indisputable meeting place for displaying the work of a new generation of landscape gardeners, architects, designers or gardeners.