Thursday was our last day of touring the Loire Valley and we chose Cheverny, a castle still occupied by its original owners (although the family lost the estate along the way and reacquired it). It is the real castle from the children’s books ‘Tin Tin’.
The lands for the castle were purchased by Henri Hurault, Count of Cheverny, a lieutenant general and military treasurer of Louis XIII, whose descendant, the Marquis de Vibraye, is the current owner. The classic Chateau de Cheverny of the Hurault family was built between 1620 and 1634 on the site of an earlier castle.
It was lost to the Crown due to fraud against the state and was given by King Henri II to his mistress Diane de Poitiers. Preferring Chateau de Chenonceau, Diane sold the castle back to the Hurault family, to whom it now belongs, but ownership did not remain uninterrupted. Having lost much of their wealth during the French Revolution, the family sold the property in 1802, but bought it back in 1824, during the Restoration under Charles
In addition to the castle there are extensive gardens and grounds and a kennel with more than 120 dogs.
The interior is fully furnished down to the hat pins and very beautiful.
After we left Cheverny, my cousin Sonya drove us there to drop off our bags at our airport hotel, and then we went with her to Charles de Gaulle Airport to return the rental car. Finding the rental car was a little tricky, but then we had an easy walk and train ride to our hotel. And the train was free.
I use the train the next morning for my early flight leaving the hotel around 5am and had no problems even with large bags walking to the airport train.
It was very quick to go through passport control and security at that time of the morning, and I didn’t have to go through passport control again in the UK, which was nice.
And that wraps up my international travels for 2025. Happy Halloween, Happy Thanksgiving, and Happy Holidays!
#Cheverny #Castle