A must-see
article | Reading time2 min
Discover these must-see châteaux to visit, explore and (re)discover in every season!
The Château d'Angers, an impregnable medieval fortress!
The story of the château d'Angers begins in 1230, when Anjou was on the border of the Kingdom of France. Blanche of Castile, mother of the future Saint Louis, ordered the construction of a fortress with ramparts half a kilometre long.
The work undertaken was colossal, with 17 towers added to the ramparts. Its deep moats and ingenious defensive features make it an impregnable building!
As well as being the residence of the Dukes of Anjou, the château d'Angers was also used as a prison. Nicolas Fouquet, for example, was locked up there after his arrest in Nantes by d'Artagnan.
It is known as the Fortress of the Apocalypse... because it contains an impressively large hanging of the same name, recently listed by UNESCO.
© Bernard Renoux / Centre des monuments nationaux
The Château d'Azay-le-Rideau, jewel of the French Renaissance
This jewel of early French Renaissance architecture was built during the reign of François I by Gilles Berthelot, the king's financier.
The north façade is the first to be seen on arrival. It houses the straight staircase built in the centre of the main building. This is the most innovative feature of the château d'Azay-le-Rideau, as it differs from the spiral staircases typical of the Renaissance.
From 1791 onwards, three generations of the Marquis de Biencourt continued to embellish the castle. The park, meanwhile, was transformed into an English-style garden featuring exotic species.
The final touch to enhance this masterpiece was added in 1950: a branch of the Indre was widened to flank the monument's foundations, producing the effect of a water mirror.
Léonard de Serres
The poetic Château de Talcy
Poetic and bucolic, the château de Talcy stands out from its close neighbours on the Loire!
Mignonne, allons voir si la rose... Do you recognise these lines by Pierre de Ronsard? The poet wrote them in 1545 for Cassandre Salviati, daughter of the castle's owner, Bernard Salviati, but the poetry doesn't stop there at the "château des muses"! At the height of the War of Religions, the Protestant poet Théodore Agrippa d'Aubigné was welcomed to Talcy... Because he was madly in love with Diane Salviati, Bernard Salviati's granddaughter.
In the 18th century, château de Talcy became a country residence. A Parisian family moved in and turned it into a vast 550-hectare agricultural estate, 7 of which were set aside for a garden that has now been restored to its former glory and was awarded the "Remarkable Garden" label in 2022.
© Léonard de Serres / Centre des monuments nationaux
At the gateway to Paris, the Château de Champs-sur-Marne
The château de Champs-sur-Marne is typical of 18th-century country residences. It's the ideal place to get away from it all in the Paris region!
Fully furnished, it houses 900 collectors' items to be admired throughout the visit. Its Chinese salon, designed by Christophe Huet, is a must-see: it is a reminder of the period's taste for the Far East.
Over the centuries, the château de Champs-sur-Marne has played host to such illustrious figures as the Marquise de Pompadour, Diderot and Marcel Proust!
When the château was bought by Louis Cahen d'Anvers in 1895, the park had lost some of its splendour. He commissioned Henri Duchêne to design it. The French garden, with its embroidery, ponds and views down to the Marne, was restored. The English-style garden, meanwhile, is made up of winding paths winding through meadows.
© Yann Monel / Centre des monuments nationaux
The château de Pierrefonds reinvented in the 19th century
The history of the château de Pierrefonds began at the end of the Middle Ages, when Louis d'Orléans decided to build a real stronghold on the strategic site of Pierrefonds!
Assassinated in 1407 by his cousin John the Fearless, construction of the castle was suspended.
Incorporated into the royal domain in 1498, the castle remained a symbol of the old feudal system, which displeased Louis XIII, who had it dismantled.
It was not until the 19th century that Pierrefonds castle was given a new lease of life. Emperor Napoleon III and his wife Eugénie wanted to turn it into a residence for pleasure, and commissioned the architect Viollet-le-Duc to restore it.
His aim? To revive the golden age of French architecture, the Gothic period. Both the exterior and interior of the château were reinvented, with its impressive fortifications and astonishing Salle des Preuses!
© 4vents - Centre des monuments nationaux
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