During this festive season, the Loire Valley châteaux (a destination I have already mentioned on the blog several times) put on their finest attire, adorning themselves with a thousand magical decorations to transport us into the enchanting atmosphere of Christmas and help us reconnect with our inner child.
Together with my favorite photographer, we set off on another road trip through the Loire Valley to discover new châteaux on both sides of the royal river, with their enchanting landscapes during this festive period.
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Table of Contents
“Christmas in the Loire Valley” Giveaway
As a nice bonus, you can even try your luck online to win stays in the Loire Valley (giveaway runs until 12/31/2017) or tickets to certain châteaux! If you’re interested, you can participate right here!
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The Château de Beaugency / Loiret (permanently closed for now)
This castle of the Princes of Dunois belongs to the same family as the château de Meung-sur-Loire, which the favorite photographer and I visited this summer and absolutely loved.
During this holiday season, the castle presents Christmas Treasures (every weekend and during school holidays until January 7, 2018), highlighting part of the Vannier collection (clothing, antique toys, glassware, statues, etc.), which had previously been tucked away in storage.
You can also tour the castle in augmented reality with the ‘Tabulette’ tablet (included in the tour price, no extra charge). We were a bit skeptical about this idea at first, as I’m usually not a fan of tablets or audio guides for cultural visits, but we were pleasantly surprised!
In the end, we got really into it and completely adopted this mode for our tour. We particularly appreciated the augmented reality segments that allow you to see the locations as they were in another era.
Château de Beaugency
2, place Dunois 45190 Beaugency
Rates: 9 € / 7.50 € reduced / 5.50 € for children 5 to 15 years old_
Château et Domaine de Chaumont-sur-Loire / Loir-et-Cher
This superb complex, which includes the castle, the vast estate with its gardens, the stables, the 19th-century landscaped park, centuries-old cedars, the viewpoint over the Loire (which earned me a nice fall on its slippery logs), and the greenhouses (winter gardens until February 28, 2018), is a must-see among the Loire châteaux in my opinion.
I think you can easily spend the whole day here when the weather is nice. The site also offers quite a few contemporary art exhibitions, whether in the park or around the Farm courtyard.
There are also beautiful winter photo exhibitions until February 28, 2018, in the Hameau Galleries.
This elegant castle, worthy of a fairy tale, dates from the 15th-19th centuries. It is now owned by the Centre-Val de Loire Region. Here again, we find many stories of famous women attached to this castle, with once more Catherine de’ Medici and Diane de Poitiers.
We were also strongly recommended to come back in nice weather for the International Garden Festival held there.
Festive activities: activities and workshops for children aged 5 to 13 during all school holidays
Domaine de Chaumont-sur-Loire, Arts and Nature Center 41150 Chaumont-sur-Loire Winter decorations until February 28, 2018
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The Château de Cheverny / Loir-et-Cher
This private castle and its magnificent estate have belonged to the same family for generations (6 centuries, to be exact), the Huraults. It is also one of the first private residences to open to the public in 1922.
For Christmas, outside you’ll find a giant advent calendar, a nativity scene, an alley of over 200 Christmas trees adorning the estate, and facade illuminations.
The Castle
This castle has always been inhabited, which explains why we find many pieces of furniture from different eras inside, as well as family mementos.
Inside the castle, you can find the Fables of La Fontaine reproduced in LEGO bricks by Histoire en Briques (until June 23, 2018).
The Secrets of Moulinsart Exhibition
This highly immersive exhibition in the world of the Tintin comic strip reminds us that the Château de Cheverny served as inspiration for Hergé for Moulinsart Castle, the inheritance of Captain Haddock, which would go on to become the anchor point for the adventures of Tintin and his friends throughout the books.
The 3D exhibition offers a show tour to immerse yourself life-size in the adventures of Tintin and Snowy.
The Exteriors
Don’t hesitate to take a walk through the grounds, which are extremely vast with their park, the apprentice garden, the Orangery, the kennels (which house hunting dogs for venery or coursing), the vegetable garden…
I really enjoyed walking in the forested part of the park, towards the canal, which has majestic trees.
The tip: free parking near the castle
Château de Cheverny 41700 Cheverny open every day of the year Magical Christmas at Cheverny until January 14, 2018 Rates: 11.50 € / 8.20 € reduced / free for children under 7
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The 3 châteaux below participate in the event “Christmas in the Land of Châteaux“, which takes place from December 2, 2017 to January 7, 2018 in 5 châteaux of Touraine.
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The Château de Chenonceau / Touraine
This 16th-century Renaissance château is certainly the best-known of the Loire châteaux, with its superb bridge over the Cher river, which gives it its highly recognizable appearance.
The history of this place is also very strongly linked to that of exceptional women like Diane de Poitiers or her rival, Catherine de’ Medici, and we discover all this throughout the tour of the interior of the castle.
During this holiday season (from Saint Nicholas to Epiphany), the castle is entirely decorated with floral arrangements made from natural materials by the Castle’s Floral Workshop, which has been preparing for this time of year for 20 years, more than 3 months in advance!
I also loved that in 2 rooms of the castle, a large fireplace fire was lit; it was at once warming, comforting, and so welcoming!
The gardens and the castle estate are also absolutely worth visiting, even if winter is not really the best season to discover this part of the castle.
Lunch at the castle’s self-service restaurant
If you want to spend the whole day at the Chenonceau site, there is (in addition to the gourmet restaurant) a snack point in winter (from December 1, 2017, to March 5, 2018, every day from 10:00 AM to 5:30 PM) located in the old stables of the Castle, which allows you to eat in a warm setting, which is very pleasant when it’s cold.
To taste: hot soups (5.50 €); local dishes with Rillettes de Tours (6 €); chicken tikka masala (9 €); desserts (3.50 €).
Château de Chenonceau 37150 Chenonceau Until January 8, 2018 Rates: 13 € adult / 10 € for children 7 to 18 years old and students The tip: parking is free
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The Royal Fortress of Chinon / Touraine
This time, we are discovering a mecca of medieval history (notably with the passage of Joan of Arc)! It’s a complete change from the rest of the other Loire châteaux, and my inner archaeologist was naturally particularly captivated by this site.
Here, there are very few pieces of furniture, but a scenography built around films and projections, as well as tours of the main buildings and towers of the old fortress.
For this winter period, the Royal Fortress of Chinon offers outdoor decoration (which had suffered a bit when we passed by after a short storm at the beginning of December) and indoor decoration around the theme “Winter trees, diverse trees“.
Royal Fortress of Chinon
37500 Chinon
Winter trees, diverse trees until January 7, 2018
Rates: 8.50 € / 6.50 € reduced / free for children under 7 and job seekers_
The Château d’Azay-Le-Rideau / Touraine
Here again, a must-see among the Loire châteaux with this superb Renaissance architecture of the 16th and 17th centuries. This castle has actually belonged to the State since 1905 and is managed by the CMN (Centre des monuments nationaux).
For this holiday period, the castle presents mechanical and sound installations by visual artists Piet.sO and Peter Keene: “The Enchantments of Azay”. These animated installations offer a dreamlike journey through the different rooms of the castle.
Another theme with “Gourmet Christmas at the Marquises of Biencourt”, where chocolates and other sweet treats take over the castle’s rooms. The site also offers gourmet tours on this occasion!
Unfortunately, we weren’t really able to walk in the park and take a beautiful photo of the castle and its facade facing the water, because several trees had fallen due to the storm and access was still dangerous…
Château d'Azay-Le-Rideau 37190 Azay-Le-Rideau Until January 7, 2018 Rates: 10 € / 8 € reduced / free for those under 25, job seekers, and for everyone on the first Sunday of each month from November to March
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Azay-Le-Rideau GIVEAWAY:
The lovely shop at the Château d’Azay-Le-Rideau is partnering with the blog to give one of you a nice set of products sold precisely by them, which I have selected for you. I tried, as much as possible, to choose local products or ones related to the castle.
The Prize (value 40 €): one book on the Loire Valley châteaux + one book on the Château d’Azay-Le-Rideau + an Azay-Le-Rideau bookmark + a postcard of the Château d’Azay-Le-Rideau + 1 bag of ‘Poires Tapées’ from Rivarennes (local specialty) + Azay-Le-Rideau stickers
To participate, simply leave a comment below this article telling me if you have already visited the Loire Valley châteaux and the Château d’Azay-Le-Rideau in particular.
A random draw will determine the winner of the prize, among those who answered this question and followed the rules. The prize will be sent by post to the winner. Good luck to everyone!
Rules:
– Giveaway limited to Mainland France
– + 1 chance if you are a fan of the blog’s Facebook page; + 1 chance if you follow the blog’s Twitter page; + 1 chance if you follow the blog’s Hellocoton page + 1 chance if you follow the blog’s Instagram page + 1 chance for each share of the article (don’t forget to leave your usernames in your comment if you want to benefit from extra chance(s))
– 1 entry per IP address
– giveaway start date: Tuesday, December 26, 2017 – deadline for entry: Wednesday, January 3, 2018, with results the following day on the blog in an edit of this article
Edit from January 07, 2018:
Following the random draw, I announce that the lucky winner of the prize is Peggy VANDERHISPALLIE.
Congratulations! I will contact you shortly by email. Thank you all for your entries, and happy New Year 2018!
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Our route on a map
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Thanks to the Centre-Val de Loire Tourist Office for this welcome and to all the châteaux we visited.
I hope that with all this, I’ve made you want to discover or rediscover the Loire Valley and its châteaux. And if you also have your own recommendations and great addresses for this destination, don’t hesitate to share them in the comments!
Find all my articles on the Loire Valley in the Centre-Val de Loire region below:
⇒ All my articles on the Loire Valley
⇒ All my articles on the Centre-Val de Loire
MY ARTICLES ON THE LOIRE VALLEY
⇒ The Loire Valley Châteaux
⇒ Visit Orléans
⇒ Visit Blois
⇒ Visit Tours
Photo credits: Nicolas Diolez Photos are not royalty-free, authorization from the photographer is mandatory before any use
