Villandry. The only complex of parks and gardens in Europe, including philosophical gardens, gardens of love, heraldic and vegetable gardens… They are located on three levels: the upper – the water surface of the ponds, the middle – musical instruments and feelings of love, the lower – garlands of colorful vegetables… In addition – a labyrinth, a garden of medicinal herbs, magnificent centuries-old alleys…
Nothing equals it in harmony and beauty! Before you is a masterpiece of the French park, which, in our opinion, ranks among, if not at the top of, the three most beautiful parks in France. The castle, although it has preserved a medieval donjon (fr. donjon – tower), was built in the 16th century. One of the largest castles of the Renaissance.
Langey. The castle was founded in the late 10th century. The ruins of the central tower preserved in the park are the oldest donjon in France – 10th century. The ‘modern’ castle was built in the late 15th century. It is worth considering that the distance in time between us and the castle is the same as that between the castle and the donjon. Here took place the wedding of French King Charles VIII, who rejected his bride, the daughter of Emperor Maximilian, and can be said to have kidnapped his bride – the 12-year-old Anne of Brittany, who became the queen of France. The furnished grand apartments tell about this era. In the wedding hall of the castle, 15 life-size wax figures in appropriate costumes reenact the scene of the famous marriage. The castle is cozy, harmonious. You can stroll through the watch galleries, admire the views of the Loire and the city, which is all cut by canals, drowning in a mosaic of colors, preserving houses from the 14th-15th centuries.
Luyin. This castle has been inhabited for 1000 years of its history. The powerful fortress with towers from the 12th century has completely survived, inside which residential quarters from the 15th and 17th centuries were built. All this has been preserved in its original form. Charles Albert de Luyin was a favorite of King Louis XIII in the early 17th century. Thanks to royal favor, he acquired the castle in 1619. His wife, Marie de Roan, is the famous Duchess de Chevreuse in A. Dumas’ novel ‘The Three Musketeers’. A beautiful intriguer, she participated throughout her life in conspiracies against the French monarchy, Cardinals Richelieu and Mazarin. Four months after her husband’s death, she married the Duke de Chevreuse, uniting the two wealthiest families in France. French kings often visited the castle’s owners: Philip IV the Fair and Louis XI, Catherine de’ Medici and Louis XIII. Today we can visit the personal apartments of the 12th Duke of Luyin, which have been open to the public since 1996 only from Easter to October. And today, when the Luyin family lives here in winter, during hunting seasons, royal persons come to visit the castle. Luyin is a powerful medieval castle, in its unique halls you will find rare interiors and busts of the Luyin ancestors – ministers, mentors of kings, members of the Freemason lodge, political figures…
Tours. – this is one of the oldest cities in France. Medieval squares, mansions of the Renaissance, remnants of Roman buildings. This city is associated with the flourishing of European culture in the 9th century, for this city there is a struggle between the English and French crowns, here stops Joan of Arc, French and English kings, here takes place its own St. Bartholomew’s Night, 10 years earlier than in Paris. Today it is a picturesque city with the oldest central square in France. The medieval part harmoniously blends with the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries. The city is located on both banks of the Loire.
Yusse. Perhaps the most beautiful of the Loire castles. Built in the Renaissance. Charles Perrault visited here, some of his fairy tales and plots were born here. The castle is private. Troglodyte dwellings (Ancient Greek: τρωγλοδύτης — ‘living in a cave’). People have lived in the rocks along the banks of the Loire and Cher for 20 million years. This is evidenced by residential apartments and castles in caves, some of which are protected by the state as invaluable architectural monuments. Don’t be surprised if you see windows carved into the rock with double-glazed windows worthy of palaces and colonnades. A number of other castles are along the way, passing through.
Visiting the castle of Luyin is only possible from Easter to October, when the owners do not live in the castle.
