Revisiting Chateau du Rivau

If you are coming with young children to the Loire Valley you will be pleasantly surprised with what's on offer, you can checkout our page here. As you will no doubt be visiting some chateaux we think a must for children is Chateau du Rivau and its gardens. We have updated our page here, after revisiting it again last summer.

Loire Valley Chateaux

The chateau has become synonymous  with the Loire from the time it was embraced by French Royalty as a  safe haven and then as a rich cultural playground. What they and their noble followers created is here for us all to see today, preserved in a way perhaps only the French can -- even to the extent of rebuilding, such as the fortress at Chinon.

 The Loire Valley castles are as diverse as they are numerous  (over 300), from Chenonceau  spanning the river Cher, Chambord with its outrageous and unnecessary scale,Azay-le Rideau seemingly floating on the river Indre, Amboise with its Leonardo de Vinci connection plus many with beautiful gardens such as at Villandry and Chaumont-sur-Loire and a few, like Le GrandPressigny housing museums - definitely something for everyone! 

 Their influence and the areas natural beauty made UNESCO designate a large stretch of the river Loire, which includes many of the best chateau, a world heritage site. Listed are many of the more famous chateau -- you will have to decide yourself on which ones to visit --  easily accessable from France's capital city Paris.

Here is a video to give you a taste of what to expect - hope to see you here during 2013.

What brings people to the Loire Valley?

Its not just the chateaux...

 ..there's the blue skies and sunflowers.

A walk around the gardens at Villandry in the Loire Valley

The gardens at Chateau de Villandry here in the Loire valley are one of the 'must see' visits of any trip to this beautiful part of France. Split on three levels, the ornamental garden, the water garden and the kitchen garden.The gardens change with the seasons... here a picture is certainly worth a thousand words...

Even more...the Royal Lodgings.

Visiting the Chateau at Loches combined with the Dungeons must be one of the best 'tickets' in the Loire Valley at only 7.50 euros (children under 12 free). Add to this the fact that you can visit the free 'house museum' of the painter Emmanuel Lansyer on the way and you have an excellent value-for-money day out.

The chateau or 'Royal lodgings' sit really well into the landscape of this medieval town - it was after all where it all began. There has been a fortification on this site since the Romans built the first one in the third century. Situated to the north of the citadel, the  least exposed to attacks, it was used as the residence of the King and his court when they were passing through the town or staying clear of their enemies in and around Paris.. Two buildings dating from different periods sit side by side, the south-east part, built against the round tower called the Agnes Sorel tower was built at the end of the 14th century. Its built-in turrets and its machicolations are reminiscent of military architecture.

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Of what you see today, only the watchtower,or Agnes Sorel tower, (centre) is earlier than 14th century when it was annexed to the great hall and 'Royal Chamber' - which is what you see below.

I often think this building is the opposite of the 'Tardis' in that when you look up from the gardens on the other side of the river Indre it looks quite large but when you visit it feels really quite compact.

The dogs sitting on the walls of the entrance stairs recall the favourite pastime of  its royal residents who would hunt in their well stocked hunting estates close by.

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 It was in the great hall (right), in June 1429, Joan of Arc, on her way back from Orleans, came to find Charles VII and convinced him to go to Reims in order to be crowned.The castle would become a favourite residence of Charles VII who gave it to his mistress, Agnes Sorel as her residence. Agnes is recognised as the first official royal mistress. It would be converted for use as a state prison by his son, Louis XI  who had lived there as a child but preferred the chateau at Amboise as a residence -- spoilt for choice really.

The entrance to the oratory of Anne of Brittany*,on the right of the picture, is actually part of the citadel wall. The tower in the background is 'La Tour Saint-Antoine' which served as the town belfry. It rises to 52 meters. Built between 1529 and 1575, it is apparently the only bell tower of  Renaissance design in Touraine. * You can read more about Anne, Agnes and Joan here

A good view of this and the rooftops of the town can be had from the terrace.

More on Loches - the keep and dungeon...

The keep at the 'Donjon' at Loches was one of thirteen such towers built at the beginning of the 11th century by Foulques Nerra the Count d'Anjou . The square tower is 36 metres high and the fact that it is still standing today is testament to just how well it was built. Although today, what you see from the outside is virtually all that remains as the floors and roof have been lost to time.

 From inside you easily make out the different floor levels and the fireplaces serving them.The ground floor of the tower would have been used as a store the first floor would have housed the 'grande salle' or great hall which would have been used as a reception and entertaining room. The other levels would have been the private residence of whoever was occupying the fortress as the time.The top level wouold also have been where they would retreat in less peaceful times.There is a walkway that takes you up the interior of the walls, not for the faint-hearted, which allows access to the top of the tower. Once you chase off the current residents you can take advantage of the great views from the top platform of the surrounding area,

Views of the town itself... 

of St.Ours church...

and further on to the neighbouring town of  Beaulieu-les-Loches,it is well worth making the climb!