Chateau de Chenonceau

This chateau is a personal favorite. Most of the photos you see of it show it show it lording over the Cher river, but I decided to use a photo showing one of the courtyards. As is typical with many of the wonderful chateaus of France there are wonderful gardens, a beautiful chapel, and an adorable little farm with very friendly donkeys, but the interior architecture is what impresses me most. The kitchen is the most impressive spot and you can spend quite a bit of time wandering through the rooms that make up the cooking area, carving area, the pots and pans, it’s amazing! There is usually an art exposition on the top floor, but it will be hard to tear yours eyes from the actual floor to see the art as the mosaic design is quite impressive. As I mentioned in my highlight about the Château de Chaumont-sur-Loire, I am a personal fan of the history of these two châteaus due to the incredible rivalry between Catherine de Medici and Diane de Poitiers. When Catherine’s husband Henry II, died she forced his mistress Diane to exchange châteaus! But as both places are quite beautiful I am not sure who got the raw end of the stick!

Along a most beautiful path way you first come across an emerald laden canopied moat, where you can imagine the gallantry of renaissance horse riding. To your left, as you draw nearer to the chateau, you pass the Italian maze created by Catherine de Medici, with it’s arbor filled with over 2000 yews. Then finally your breath is taken away with the first sight of the chateau. This was the home to 6 leading women of France during between the 15th and 20th centuries.