Loire Valley

Today was spent hanging out in the Loir Valley. First stop was at the Chateau d’Usse. This was a classic old French country Chateau, it was a great photo stop as we had a bigger Chateau to visit.

Our main visit for this morning was the Chateau de Villandry. This is a classic 16th century French Chateau with some fantastic gardens. It was bought by the current owners in the early 1900s and the gardens have been restored to be seriously sensational. The Chateau itself is also very well maintained with rooms set up showing how they would have been in medieval times.

On the way back to Chinon we stopped at Bréhémont to take some photos of the Loire River. Followed by a quick lunch in Chinon then off to the local winery to try some of their products.

The afternoon was spent exploring Chinon Castle. This is a huge castle with an extensive history. It was a favourite of King Henry II who spent a lot of time here in the 1100s. In 1429 the castle was under siege by the British until Joan of Arc broke the siege making her very popular with the King who made her a noble. She then fought the British army again a few weeks later and beat them again badly. She had a good mind for strategy and pushed for the new French King Charles VII to be crowned in Paris thus giving him legitimacy among the French nobility.

She then went on to fight the Burgundy army but was injured by an arrow and captured. The King refused to pay the ransom. She was then sold to the English army and again no ransom was paid, she might have been a noble but she didn’t have land or income. She was wearing trousers so the bishop had her tried for witchcraft. She promised not to do it again but of course she did so she was burnt at the stake by the church.

She was in her early 20s when she died and is still revered as a national hero in France.

Dinner was excellent, at a Michelin Star restaurant from 2024. As you do!Read more