Chenonceaux Castellum sur Chenonceaux

Very pretty place with magnificent gardens

Large castle in the Loire Valley, built on the water, and very well preserved.

From Chambord to Chenonceau the step can sometimes be short, especially when you decide to visit two spectacular and unmissable castles like these in the same day. Having reached the second one at 5.00 pm 🕔 coming from the first one, we fortunately managed to park (the parking area 🅿️ was almost full) and then moved towards the structure 🏰. Having already purchased the tickets online 📱 we limited ourselves to validation at the control point along the beautiful tree-lined avenue 🌳; here we have also been provided with useful guides in Italian 🇮🇹, however also available in many other languages: English 🇬🇧, French 🇨🇵, German 🇩🇪, Dutch 🇳🇱, Spanish 🇪🇦, Portuguese 🇵🇹, Brazilian 🇧🇷 ( I had never seen supports specifically dedicated to what remains a variant of Portuguese), Romanian 🇷🇴, Czech 🇨🇿, Polish 🇵🇱, Hungarian 🇭🇺, Japanese 🇯🇵, South Korean 🇰🇷, Chinese 🇨🇳 and even Russian 🇷 🇺 (I am pleased to note that here, unlike what happens elsewhere, absurd and delusional discriminatory measures are not applied against Russian citizens). At the end of the avenue, the magnificent view opens up before us not only on the castle 🏰 but, more generally, on the estate of which it is part. To delimit this large space there are two stone sphinxes on special pedestals making a beautiful display. What is striking, among the various aspects, is undoubtedly the castle's close relationship 🏰 with water 💧, since the structure stands entirely in the middle of the Cher river, a tributary of the Loire. The connection with the two banks is ensured by the shape of the building itself, elongated almost as if it were a large bridge stretching between the banks. The elongated section, in truth, represents a sort of extension of the castle in the strict sense. The part immersed in the river has large vaulted arches that allow the comfortable passage of boats and boats 🛥⛵️; in this regard, it should be noted that it is in fact possible to rent kayaks and rowing boats on site 🛶 to explore the area in complete autonomy. The spaces on the lower floor, practically at water level, are also very interesting, such as the kitchens, the bakery, butcher's shop and pantry. Finally, before returning to the car 🚘, we took a walk 🚶🏻🚶🏻‍♀️ around the beautiful side garden. It wouldn't have been bad to have had a little more time and perhaps even arrived more rested (the visit to the Chambord castle 🏰 had been challenging). Nonetheless, I think I can say that, of all the Loire castles we visited in our week-long tour, I liked it more than any other. Undoubtedly RECOMMENDED 👍🏻.

Excellence not to be missed during a visit to Touraine

Magnificent, plan a full day, the gardens, vegetable gardens, annexed buildings are worth the detour. The castle is perfectly preserved, the different rooms all have a history and are each more beautiful than the next. Story frame everything is superb.

Very nice and well-kept site; We went two people, without a reservation, and we didn't have any wait.

Really not half as impressive compared to Villandry. But still impressive, of course. I think 17 euros per person is quite steep. And then another 5 euros for an audio guide. Naaay! The audio guide is quite high quality, even if it only refers to the castle.

At the Château de Chenonceau, everything is beautiful!!!! Magnificent castle with beautiful gardens. The feminine touch of the illustrious mistresses of the house, such as Diane de Poitiers, Marie Stuart, Catherine de Medici, Louise de Lorraine, Madame Dupin... or even Madame Pelouze remains forever marked... It is indeed the ladies' castle. Allow 3 hours of visit to enjoy this place with a thousand decorations and bouquets of flowers. Entry at 17 euros justified by the quality of the interviews. I highly recommend. There are a lot of people but that’s the price of glory.

Lots to see in and around this castle spanning the Cher. Unforgettable visit. Bouquets of magnificent flowers punctuate the visit. Very well maintained gardens. Free parking

Very beautiful castle, very well maintained both inside and outside... Visited in September, we appreciated that there were not too many people. We did not take the audio guide but used the booklet offered at the entrance... Very well done and sufficient for visitors who are not history buffs...