French Castles: Valencay

The town of Valençay has a lot to offer to the tourist. A detour into Valençay is certainly worth your time. It is not a surprise that Valençay is known as one of the "Most beautiful detours in France".

Located in the Indre department, here you can spend the day at one of the most entertaining family friendly castles I have been to. Afterwards you can go to the Car museum or just spend the rest of your day wandering around the picturesque town or even better visiting its vineyards and cheese making facilities.

The Chateau de Valençay is of Renaissance architecture, similar in style to the Chateau de Chambord in the Loire Valley.

The castle itself is very beautiful. Built around 1540 on a plateau overlooking the Nahon river. The construction started with the Estampes family, but it was not completed until the 18th century.

Worthy of notice is the round tower at the western corner, capped by a dome. There are several styles in the building, mainly Doric on the ground floor and Corinthian on the second floor. An arcaded gallery rings the courtyard.

There are a hundred rooms, of which a quarter comprise Talleyrand's apartments. The western wing contains the Talleyrand Museum, and Le Musée de l'Automobile du Centre, exhibiting over fifty vintage and antique automobiles.

We have been to the Chateau several times. My children love this castle and we go every Easter for the "Easter egg hunt" which takes place in the gardens and park of the castle which covers about forty hectares, not counting the vineyards. That day, apart from the free Easter eggs, the castle also offers free horse rides and horse and cart rides for the children and their families. There are also musicians and clowns in the gardens.

We like a lot the family orientated side of Valençay. Despite having a very good restaurant in site, you are allowed to take a picnic to the gardens. There are plenty of picnic tables and a vending machine for tea and coffee around the children's play area which makes it an ideal outing on a sunny day.

For the older children and adults there is "Napoleon's maze" which is a labyrinth park. You need to know a bit of French to do this and you need to know A LOT about Napoleon's dates to be able to open the doors in the outdoor maze. The idea is to solve clues based on Napoleon and learn all about him while having fun. If you are not sure about your history knowledge, you can always ‘piggy back' with some French people... or cheat and get the answers at the front desk!

For young children there is a new Bouncy Castle installed this year. There is also a little farm where you can see peacocks, cocks, chickens, lambs and horses.

The children also enjoy the show in the kitchens where you can follow the preparation for a big reception in the castle. There are also other shows like the "Gallant conversations" and the "Duchess duel".

New to this year's attractions there is a section where you can dress up in period clothes and have your picture taken in the castle.

At the ground floor of the visited area of the Chateau, you can see the gallery and two living rooms which contain many artistic objects and sumptuous furniture Empire style, Louis XVI and Regency.

On the 1st floor, you can see the room of Ferdinand VII king of Spain. You can also see a copy of Tayllerand's rooms in Paris, his niece (rumoured to be his lover) and his wife's rooms. Also open to the visit are the kitchens and wine cave as well as one of the main dining rooms.

All the interior photos shown in here are copyright reserved and belong to Castles of France

The owners:

• The first known owners were the Estampes family.

• In 1719, the Scottish banker John law bought the Estate.
• In 1803 by orders of Napoleon, his foreign minister Charles Talleyrand acquired the property in order to hold majestic receptions in the countryside for important political and social figures of the time.

• Although not an owner, Ferdinand VII king of Spain spent six years captive in this Chateau. His room is shown to the tourists and it looks every inch as comfortable and luxurious as you could imagine!

• In 1979 the Chateau was sold to an association of historic Chateaux.

The Valencay region is the first to have an AOC label for two products, the goat cheese and the wine .

The cheese, one of my weaknesses is named after the town and is shaped like a pyramid with the top cut off. It is made of unpasteurised goat's milk using the traditional methods. When the cheese is firm enough it is covered with salted charcoal ash which allows the cheese to keep its flavour. This is a delicious cheese, my favourite one, as it can be soft and delicate with a nutty flavour. But the aged version can be hard and very strong -still delicious.

There are about 21 producers in the region making 350 tonnes of this cheese a year.

The wine in Valençay is still made the traditional way. There are 22 wine producers and a cooperative in the area. Valençay boasts an annual production of 8000 hectolitres from a surface of 150 hectares. The wine production is divided in White, Rose and Red. The white Valençay is recommended to accompany the Valençay cheese and fish. The Red Valençay is also very good with the cheese while it is still young. Aged, this red wine is better taken with grilled meats or for making sauces.

Opening times

Open all year round, all day long .

from 29 march to 30 june from 9h00 to 18h00 .

from 1 july to 31 august from 9h30 to 19h30 . f

rom 1 september to 2 november from 9h00 to 18h00

Audioguide

The visited guide is some individually with the aid of headphones. The guide is available in French, German, Dutch, Italian, Spanish and English. This is great as you can press the buttons in your audio guide to control the amount and depth of information that you require for every room visited.

Access .

Motorway A10 Paris Blois (45 m. from Blois), exit Blois. .

Autoroute A71 - A8 exit Romorantin or Selles sur Cher About 70 Km; East of Tours.