The Château d'Azay-le-Rideau

•  De 1510 à nos jours, la vie d’un château de la Loire. 
• Un album qui rend compte des restaurations récentes du château et du parc. 
• Une campagne photographique en partie inédite.

Built under King François I on an island in the middle of the river Indre, the château d’Azay-le-Rideau embodies the creative verve that inspirited the whole of the Loire Valley at the time. Adopting the architectural vocabulary of the Renaissance in fashion throughout Europe, it became one of the jewels of the new art of building. Its successive owners strove to elevate it to the rank of a national treasure. The Biencourt family in particular undertook substantial improvements in the 19th century. Restored and provided with a splendid park in the English style, the château acquired its distinctive image. After a fi nal major restoration campaign by the French State, the château d’Azay-le-Rideau has regained the éclat and charm visitors have admired over the centuries.

Introduction

• An island in the heart of the Valley of the Kings 
• “Mademoiselle” edifies the new château Lacework in stone
• The stairs: an innovation and an ode to love 
• Philippe Lesbahy, from riches to rags
• The château’s new mistress, in the circle of Queen Margot 
• Françoise de Lansac, a protégé of  Cardinal Richelieu 
• Marie-Madeleine de Lansac’s worldly husband
• The Marquis de Biencourt’s dream Renaissance 
• A luxurious, modern interior
• A museum château open to visitors as early as the 19th century
• Splendidly landscaped grounds

A closer look

• The château and gardens 
• Ground Floor
• First Floor 
• Roof Frame

In depth

• The château d’Azay-le-Rideau saved by the French state 
• A natural and prolific habitat
• Honoré de Balzac, a good friend of the Biencourts
   

Historienne de l’art, diplômée de Sciences-Po Paris, Chrystelle Laurent est l’administratrice du château d’Azay-le-Rideau. Auparavant, elle a notamment été conservatrice des antiquités et objets d’art en Champagne, commissaire de l’exposition “Le Beau XVI^e siècle : chefs-d’œuvre de la sculpture en Champagne” à Troyes.