Windows on some of Orléans diverse housing stock...

Orléans offers a remarkably diverse housing stock that ranges from medieval timber-framed houses and grand 18th-century façades along Rue Royale to interwar suburban villas like this one. In neighbourhoods such as La Madeleine you still find these carefully decorated early-20th-century houses, where local builders mixed stucco, ceramic tile and wrought iron to create modest yet distinctive homes. The blue geometric friezes and scalloped motifs on 65 Rue de Vauquois are typical of the period’s taste for colour and pattern, a quiet counterpoint to the city’s more monumental Loire-side architecture.

“Through every window,the Loire Valley breathes — calm, patient, and quietly luminous.”

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Part of the “Windows of the Loire” Series

Each Wednesday, we share a glimpse of the Loire Valley through its windows — small frames of everyday beauty and quiet reflection.

See more from Experience Loire

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Windows & Balconies of the Loire: Inside Out at Château de Chambord.

Inside out at Château de Chambord. Usually we look through a window to see inside a building, but here the view works just as well in reverse. The leaded glass frames Chambord's formal French gardens, drawing the eye along the central axis towards the château's grounds.

The gardens themselves have a long history. Planned under Louis XIV, completed during the reign of Louis XV, and laid out in their 18th-century form in 1734, they eventually disappeared beneath simpler lawns. The formal gardens were restored and replanted in 2016–17, reopening to visitors in March 2017.

A rather good example of how, at Chambord, the view from a window can be as carefully composed as the view of the building itself.

“Through every window,the Loire Valley breathes — calm, patient, and quietly luminous.”

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Part of the “Windows of the Loire” Series

Each Wednesday, we share a glimpse of the Loire Valley through its windows — small frames of everyday beauty and quiet reflection.

See more from Experience Loire

© Experience Loire — Windows of the Loire · Back to Home

Look Up in Descartes...

The rather loud frontage of the hair salon on rue du Commerce in Descartes makes it easy to look straight ahead and miss what is above. Look up, though and the upper floors reveal a much more restrained façade, with elegant windows, ironwork balconies and carefully carved stone detailing. It is a good example of why the 'Windows and Balconies' series looks beyond the obvious at street level.

“Through every window,Touraine breathes — calm, patient, and quietly luminous.”

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Part of the “Windows of the Loire” Series

Each Wednesday, we share a glimpse of the Loire Valley through its windows — small frames of everyday beauty and quiet reflection.

See more from Experience Loire

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Windows of Southern Touraine...

There is something very appealing about the traditional houses of Southern Touraine, where pale tufa stone is often set off by painted shutters and doors. Here, the soft green woodwork and climbing plant add a little colour without taking away from the simplicity of the old stonework.

NB This little house is currently for sale as part of a larger property.

“Through every window,Touraine breathes — calm, patient, and quietly luminous.”

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Part of the “Windows of the Loire” Series

Each Wednesday, we share a glimpse of the Loire Valley through its windows — small frames of everyday beauty and quiet reflection.

See more from Experience Loire

© Experience Loire — Windows of the Loire · Back to Home

Wednesday for windows - inside out!

A view from a window onto chateau de La Guerche.

This view could be yours as house is for sale - you can take a walk through the house here.

“Through every window, the Loire breathes — calm, patient, and quietly luminous.”

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Part of the “Windows of the Loire” Series

Each Wednesday, we share a glimpse of the Loire Valley through its windows — small frames of everyday beauty and quiet reflection.

See more from Experience Loire

© Experience Loire — Windows of the Loire · Back to Home

Windows & Balconies of the Loire: Le Petit-Pressigny

A window that doesn't quite look like a window in Le Petit-Pressigny. The figures appear to be standing behind the glass, but this is a painted scene set into the opening of the building housing Les Chambres de l'Aigronne.

It also brings to mind a curious piece of French history: the window tax.

Introduced in 1798, the contribution des portes et fenêtres was one of France's "four old" direct taxes. It was calculated according to the number and size of doors and windows opening onto streets, courtyards and gardens. The reasoning was that the number of openings provided a visible indication of a property's wealth.

The tax remained in place until 1926. It became notorious because it encouraged some owners to reduce the number of windows in their buildings, while existing openings were sometimes blocked up. The tax was even described by critics as an "impôt sur l'air et la lumière", a tax on air and light.

So, nearly a century after the tax disappeared, we find a window in Le Petit-Pressigny that is there purely for appearance.

“Through every window, the Loire breathes — calm, patient, and quietly luminous.”

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Part of the “Windows of the Loire” Series

Each Wednesday, we share a glimpse of the Loire Valley through its windows — small frames of everyday beauty and quiet reflection.

See more from Experience Loire

© Experience Loire — Windows of the Loire · Back to Home

Château de Grillemont at La Chapelle-Blanche-Saint-Martin.

The château at La Chapelle-Blanche-Saint-Martin has medieval origins, although much of what stands today dates from later rebuilding. In 1464, Bertrand de Lescoët acquired Grillemont and transformed it into a substantial fortress. In the 18th century, François Balthazar Dangé d'Orsay remodelled it as a more comfortable residence, removing the medieval keep and opening up the buildings with much larger windows.

There is a particularly good story attached to those alterations. Local tradition says that Dangé d'Orsay ordered as many windows and doors as there are days in the year to be created in the château. The actual number is thought to have been 97 but the story has survived.

Grillemont also had an extraordinary wartime history. During the Second World War it was successively used by the evacuated French Ministry of Commerce, occupied by German forces and later used as a prison. 846 people were held there between 1941 and 1943.

In 1850, the castle was bought by Gérasime Lecointre, the great-great-grandfather of the current owner. The castle was empty, as the previous owner had gone bankrupt and sold all the furniture.The family then had to work at returning it to a habitable residence.

Official website.

Happy Monday in the Loire Valley!

“Each château tells a story — of kings, of artists and of the dream of France itself.”

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Part of the “Châteaux of the Loire” Series

Every Monday, we explore one of the Loire Valley's legendary châteaux — from royal residences to riverside retreats — each revealing a different chapter of the region's story.

Discover more about the Loire Valley

Browse the full series

 © Experience Loire — Châteaux of the Loire · ,

Back to Home

Blue shutters...

Little window in Azay-le-Rideau.

“Through every window, the Loire breathes — calm, patient, and quietly luminous.”

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Part of the “Windows of the Loire” Series

Each Wednesday, we share a glimpse of the Loire Valley through its windows — small frames of everyday beauty and quiet reflection.

See more from Experience Loire

© Experience Loire — Windows of the Loire · Back to Home

Chateau de Montpoupon

Standing on the edge of the Forest of Loches, Château du Montpoupon has watched over this corner of Touraine for centuries. Unlike many of the Loire Valley's grand royal residences, Montpoupon has remained a family home for generations, giving it a more intimate character while preserving its medieval towers and Renaissance additions.

Its distinctive round towers and defensive walls hint at its origins as a fortified castle, while the elegant windows and refined details reflect the changing tastes of later centuries. Surrounded by woodland and open countryside, it remains one of the quieter château experiences in the Loire Valley.

If you're exploring the region between Chenonceau and Loches, Château de Montpoupon is well worth adding to your itinerary.

Montpoupon is especially associated with hunting traditions. Inside, the château houses the Musée du Veneur (Museum of the Huntsman) , dedicated to the history of hunting with hounds in France. Even if hunting isn't of personal interest, the museum offers a fascinating insight into a centuries-old rural tradition that shaped life on many French estates.

Happy Monday in the Loire Valley!

“Each château tells a story — of kings, of artists and of the dream of France itself.”

---

Part of the “Châteaux of the Loire” Series

Every Monday, we explore one of the Loire Valley's legendary châteaux — from royal residences to riverside retreats — each revealing a different chapter of the region's story.

Discover more about the Loire Valley

Browse the full series

 © Experience Loire — Châteaux of the Loire · ,

Back to Home

Windows on a building of character in Blois.

The streets of Blois can occasionally reveal an architectural style quite different from the town's famous château. This late 19th-century townhouse combines red brick, carved stone and colourful glazed tiles in a design that reflects the craftsmanship of its period.

It's a fine example of how everyday homes can possess some of the character as the grand buildings for which the Loire Valley is renowned.

Blois experienced a building boom at the end of the 19th century, and many new homes were influenced by the fashionable Art Nouveau movement and regional architectural styles. Decorative glazed ceramic tiles, like those on this façade, were both ornamental and practical, adding colour while helping to protect the brickwork from the weather.

“Through every window, the Loire breathes — calm, patient, and quietly luminous.”

---

Part of the “Windows of the Loire” Series

Each Wednesday, we share a glimpse of the Loire Valley through its windows — small frames of everyday beauty and quiet reflection.

See more from Experience Loire

© Experience Loire — Windows of the Loire · Back to Home