Chateaux & Gardens

Price: €11 (public price: €12) The only Château on the Loire to be built on the riverbed, Château de Montsoreau was built in 1450 by Jean II de Chambes, a close adviser to King Charles VII. Its history has been marked by the lives of many famous people, including Mary Stuart, Anne of Brittany, Claude of France and François I. Its avant-garde architecture has always inspired artists from Rodin to Turner, Flaubert and Alexandre Dumas. Transformed into a museum of contemporary art and inaugurated in April 2016, the Château de Montsoreau is a new venue that offers, two hours from Paris, in the Loire Valley, a World Heritage Site, and over 2,000m2, a journey through its permanent collection, considered to be the most important collection of Conceptual Art in the world.

The Domaine de Chaumont-sur-Loire, which now covers 32 hectares, offers one of the most beautiful views of the royal river and is a belvedere on the wild Loire. It welcomes more than 385,000 visitors each year. It includes the Château (15th-19th century), its stables, its landscaped park and the International Garden Festival. As a centre for the arts and nature, the estate also hosts installations by contemporary artists and exhibitions by major photographers. In season: the "Gardens of Light" invite you to a night walk to discover the gardens of the Festival; the Restaurant of the Domain welcomes you and offers you an inventive cuisine.

Price: €12 (public price: €13) The Fortress of Montbazon, the stronghold of the terrible Count of Anjou, Foulques III Nerra, dominates the Indre valley and the town of Montbazon from the top of its rocky spur. It is one of our oldest military constructions. Home to the oldest keep in France still standing, its history stretches from the end of the 10th century to the 15th. As well as a particularly immersive guided tour, you can discover the trades of the Middle Ages through skits and demonstrations: war machines in action, weapons master, stone cutter, potter, herbalist, calligrapher...  Children can try their hand at a host of medieval games, and leave with their knight of the fortress diploma! The fortress tavern serves fouées, salads, planks and other delicacies.

The Azay-le-Rideau castle estate invites you to enjoy a unique visiting experience: admire the sculpted facades, discover the 19th century decorations on the ground floor and the Renaissance room on the first floor, and don't miss the original framework from the early 16th century. Finally, stroll through and contemplate the romantic flowered park and extend your discovery to the press: "multimedia interpretation space"...