There are so many Châteaux de la Loire that it would be impossible to list them all here. We will then introduce you to some of our favorite Châteaux.
Do you know which Loire Castle to visit near Tours?
If you are looking for an excursion from Tours, you should consider visiting one of the many castles in the Loire Valley. Touraine is known for its magnificent monuments.
The castles of the Loire are the high places in the history of France. When you visit Tours and its region, you will see the spectacular castles that make up these beautiful landscapes appear along your route.
The castles of the Loire to visit near Tours
Visit the castle of Azay-le-Rideau
The Château d’Azay-le-Rideau is considered one of the models of French Renaissance architecture. Built on an island in the middle of the Indre under the patronage of François I. A subtle alliance of French traditions and innovative decoration from Italy, it is an icon of the new art of building in the Loire Valley in the 16th century. Its landscaped park, designed in the second half of the 19th century, offers a real natural setting.
Visit the Castle of Azay le Rideau
Visit the Château de Chenonceau
Nicknamed the Château des Dames, the Château de Chenonceau is one of the most majestic castles in the Loire.
Loved by Diane de Poitiers and Catherine de Médicis, the history of the Château de Chenonceau is marked by an almost uninterrupted succession of women who built, beautified, protected, restored and saved it.
Visit the Château de Chenonceau
Visit the Castle of Amboise
Palace of the kings of France during the Renaissance, burial place of Leonardo da Vinci, the royal castle of Amboise also offers one of the most beautiful panoramas of the Loire Valley.
For almost two centuries, the history of the royal castle of Amboise has been intimately intertwined with the great history of France. Grand palace of Kings Charles VIII and Francis I during the Renaissance, burial place of the iconic Leonardo da Vinci, bears outstanding testimony to the profound changes that took place in Europe in the 15th and 16th centuries.
Visit the Castle of Amboise
Visit the Château de Langeais
Rebuilt in the 15th century by Louis XI, the Château de Langeais is one of the oldest castles in the Loire. Its architecture illustrates the transition between two styles: a medieval fortress, city side, and a Renaissance castle, park side.
The Château de Langeais offers a tour of fifteen rooms decorated with richly carved medieval furniture. We discover a collection of tapestries and the reconstruction of the royal wedding of Anne of Brittany and Charles VIII told by Stéphane Bern.
Visit the Château de Langeais
Visit to the castle of Villandry
The Château de Villandry, avant-garde architecture
In 1532, Jean Breton, finance secretary of François I, bought a medieval fortress located not far from Tours. Like the ruler who built in the Loire Valley according to the new architectural techniques of the Renaissance, Jean Breton undertook important works to bring the castle of Villandry into modernity.
Also known for its sumptuous gardens, the gardens of the Château de Villandry extend between a wooded headland and the village over 12 meters in altitude. Renaissance-inspired 20th-century gardens designed by Joachim Carvallo. Arranged in terraces, there is a water garden, ornamental gardens, a vegetable garden, a labyrinth, the recent Jardin du Soleil. Water is everywhere here.
Visit to the castle of Villandry
The lesser-known castles of the Loire Valley to visit around Tours
But that is not all!
There are many other lesser known Loire Valley chateaux near Tours.
We present here two favorites not to be missed while discovering Tours and its region.
Visit the Domaine de Candé
In a preserved setting, 20 minutes from Tours, the Domaine de Candé invites you to discover a castle with a bold layout and invites you to stroll in the heart of an equally unique 230-hectare park.
Made famous in 1937 by the marriage of the Duke of Windsor to the American Wallis Simpson. You will discover modern equipment that is extremely rare for the time: huge kitchens on two levels; state-of-the-art bathrooms; a thousand square meters of cellars equipped with the latest generation presses; a Bell telephone exchange; a fitness room with equipment worthy of the Titanic; a monumental Skinner organ, the only one in Europe.
Visit the Domaine de Candé
Visit the Champchevrier castle
At the end of a long avenue that crosses the forest, the main gate of Champchevrier appears, a royal and family castle (16th and 18th centuries). Royal: Kings Louis XI and Louis XIII loved to hunt there and the tradition of hunting is still alive on the estate. Family: it has been inhabited by the same family since 1728. From the kitchen with its magnificent brass drums to the sumptuously decorated ceremonial rooms and their unique tapestries in the world, you will fall under the spell of the Château de Champchevrier.
Visit the Champchevrier castle
Chronicle written by Adrien Bourgois, founder I love the Loire Valley❤️
Photo credit Pépite 1991 © I love the Loire Valley ❤️
