Visit the Château of Azay-le-Rideau

The Château of Azay-le-Rideau looks like it's come straight out of a fairytale book.  This Renaissance Chateau is surrounded by water and parkland.  To visit it I had to cross a bridgeover the River Indre to get to its main entrance.

This is one of the smaller Château in the area of the Loire and Indre but it's exceptionally stylish, with turrets at every corner.  The main staircase is an important feature as it was one of the first in France to be built with straight flights which were part of the interior of the building.  It also has some wonderful stone carvings.  It has just two stories and then attics in the roofspace.  All in all, it is an excellent example of French sixteenth century architecture

It was built by Gilles de Berthelot between1518 and 1529.  His role was Treasurer to King François I and as might be expected, he was a wealthy man in his own right.  His wife Philippa was responsible for supervising the work.

The chateau is actually located and built on the foundations of a much older medieval fortress which was burned down.

Inside you can visit a range of rooms from the State apartments to the kitchen and see colourful and intricate tapestries and fascinating and sometimes funny stone carvings of naughty cherubs and animals.

You might think it stands quite high in the water.  However you need to remember that this is not a moat with a static and controllable water level.  The water is a real river - the River Indre - which is going to change in levels through the seasons and over time.  However the flow has been slowed right down - which means that the water around about has a mirror-like surface.  This, of course reflects the Château and its turrets which gives its an even greater impact.

It has been owned by the French State since 1905 and today it is run by the Centre des monuments nationaux (click the link and listen to very nice man speak to you in French!).

Azay-le-Rideau is located in the Indre-et-Loire département, of the Centre région, in central France.  This département, has a very large number of chateaux lying near one or the other of two important rivers which give it its name.

I'd HIGHLY RECOMMEND a visit to the Château of Azay-le-Rideau.  Allow a minimum of 90 minutes.

Château of Azay-le-Rideau | The Centre des monuments nationaux
On the Unesco World Heritage list.

French Monthly | Castle of Azay le Rideau
Azay-le-Rideau is a small castle, charming and romantic. It is located in the Loire Valley, 15 miles southwest of Tours (and about 150 miles southwest of Paris).

Azay-Le-Rideau is located some15 miles south west of Tours in the Centre region of France.

It's south east of the River Loire and it's very well signposted!

• if following the D952 cross the River Loire at Langeais to pick up the D7
• if following the D7 south west from Tours, pick up the D57 at Lignieres de Touraine
• follow the D57 from the Loire.  Note this turns south just before the chateau while you need to keep going east.
• the River Indre is built on an island in the middle of the River Indre.  This creates the water which surrounds the chateau on all sides.
• the entrance is off the Rue Pineau (the road going east away from Azay-le-Rideau)

• My recollection is that there is no parking in the vicinity of the chateau and that you have to park in the town and walk for a few minutes.  It's very pleasant to walk by the river as we did.

GPS details: Latitude : 47.2596 Longitude : 0.4666

One of the big features of the Chateau is the amount and the quality of the stone carvings.

Two of the major carvings are of a salamander (which you find in various forms all over the chateau) and the ermine.  These are both official emblems

• The emblem of King Francis I is the salamander
• Reine Claude of France was the Queen consort to her King Francis I - her emblem was the ermine.

For those looking for a great French garden you'll be disappointed.  This Chateau focuses on parkland and there's no sense of any flower garden. or vegetable garden that I could see.

The park was established in the nineteenth century by the Biencourt Family.  It features specimen trees

However we went at the beginning of Autumn and it looked like the changing leaves could make for a very attractive site.

When trying to get round as many chateaux as possible, it's easy to miss the environment round about.  Fortunately we needed to park on the other side of Azay-le-Rideau and walk across.  We found this small town to be delightful and quiet.  It's a great place to stock up on all those odds and ends you need when travelling round.  We bought baguettes for lunch, stamps for postcards and batteries for a camera without difficulty.

I'm guessing that it's maybe a bit quieter at the beginning of October than it might be in the middle of Summer