Next it is back to the car and off to visit the Chateau of Chenonceau which is relatively close to Amboise. This is another beautiful castle in the Loire Valley that spans a river which was the border between occupied and free France. Supposedly there were partisans using the castle to pass from one side to the other. The parking is outside the gardens so first we visit the Maze – it is fun but relatively easy to solve – it would probably hurt the tourism business if tourists would really get lost.
We then catch the first glimpse of the castle and it doesn’t look as impressive as Chambord at least from this side. Still it is a little fairytale looking and we are looking forward to our visit.
Close up we notice the many details especially the famous castle over the river. Of course a part of the castle is under renovation, that is our luck more often than not.
Inside it is more furnished than Chambord so we spend a lot more time viewing the different rooms. We also go in the part of the castle that spans the river – fun to look outside and see the river flowing beneath you.
There are also some beautiful details and carvings throughout the castle. We really enjoy searching for them and trying to understand them, many are related to the kings of France as evidenced by the fleur de lis, the symbol of French Royalty.
We then go in the maintained gardens and from here the view is more impressive as you can see the extension of the castle over the water. This is probably the best view of the castle in our opinion and we enjoy it for awhile before continuing our exploration.
The park is quite impressive and beautiful with lots of interesting details. We really like the overgrown tower, it is quite special looking like in a medieval fairytale. We almost expect some knights to appear or princesses to lower their hair from the top but unfortunately nothing like that happens.
Returning to the car we pass by a pond full of weird and beautiful ducks that we study for a while. And then we pass near a meadow that houses a few cool looking donkeys which we just have to take photos with.
We then enter through the vegetable and flower garden which looks beautiful and has ripe fruit that people are collecting and eating as they pass by. And then we are at the car after what was a really enjoyable visit.
After exiting we stop to eat a few crepes and then move on as it is already afternoon and we planned to eat dinner at Domaine de la Rhonie where we also spend the night and we have to arrive before 8 pm in order to be able to order from the menu. This means that unfortunately we cannot stop on the way and even so we lose precious minutes as we get lost a few times on the way due to the remoteness of the location. We arrive a few minutes before 8 so without even checking in we go to the dinner room and eat a very full meal that revolves around geese and foie gras which is typical for the region and we wanted to sample.
After this we go to bed in a separate building which likely was the stable before but is very comfy and cold until we turn on the heat. Outside there is a great view of the valley with horses on meadows however the darkness descends before we can take any pictures so we go to sleep as tomorrow we have to wake up early to have any chance to view one of the well know painted caves in the area.