Chateaux de Chenonceau
Unlike the Loire, the gentle River Cher flows so slowly and passively between the exquisite arches of the Château de Chenonceau that you're almost always assured of a perfect reflection. The Château is not visible from the road so you have to pay before even getting a peek at the residence. While the tree-lined path to the front door is dramatic, for a more intimate approach, head through the gardens laid out under Diane de Poitiers.
The building of Chenonceau was always controlled by women. Katherine Briçonnet – whose husband Thomas Bohier bought the site on the proceeds of embezzling from his master, François I – hired the first architects in 1515 and had them begin building on the foundations of an old mill that stood on the granite bed of the Cher. The château's most characteristic feature, the set of arches spanning the River Cher, was begun later in the century by Diane de Poitiers (mistress of Henri II) and completed by the indomitable Catherine de Médicis (wife of Henri II), after she had evicted Diane and forced her to hand over the Château in return for Chaumont. Mary, Queen of Scots, child bride of François II, also spent time here until her husband's early death.
Then, after a long period of disuse, one Madame Dupin brought eighteenth-century life to this gorgeous residence, along with her guests Voltaire, Montesquieu and Rousseau, whom she hired as tutor to her son. Restoration back to the sixteenth-century designs was completed by another woman, Madame Pelouze, in the late nineteenth century. It's now a profitable business, owned and run by the Menier chocolate family firm.
The building of Chenonceau was always controlled by women. Katherine Briçonnet – whose husband Thomas Bohier bought the site on the proceeds of embezzling from his master, François I – hired the first architects in 1515 and had them begin building on the foundations of an old mill that stood on the granite bed of the Cher. The château's most characteristic feature, the set of arches spanning the River Cher, was begun later in the century by Diane de Poitiers (mistress of Henri II) and completed by the indomitable Catherine de Médicis (wife of Henri II), after she had evicted Diane and forced her to hand over the Château in return for Chaumont. Mary, Queen of Scots, child bride of François II, also spent time here until her husband's early death.
Then, after a long period of disuse, one Madame Dupin brought eighteenth-century life to this gorgeous residence, along with her guests Voltaire, Montesquieu and Rousseau, whom she hired as tutor to her son. Restoration back to the sixteenth-century designs was completed by another woman, Madame Pelouze, in the late nineteenth century. It's now a profitable business, owned and run by the Menier chocolate family firm.
