The Château de Chenonceau is unique among chateaux in the Loire because it was built to span the River Cher. It took nearly 100 years to do it in the 1500s, but the result is what you see here. It’s not large, but it is incredibly picturesque. In fact, after Versailles it is the most visited chateau in France.
The original chateau was burned to the ground in 1412 to punish the owner for an act of sedition. He rebuilt it by the 1430s, but went bankrupt doing it so had to sell it off. The buyer demolished what was there and started the rebuild (House Hunters: Chateau Renovation!) in the early 1500s. In 1535 the château was seized by King Francis I of France (the same guy whose arms da Vinci died in) for unpaid debts to the Crown; after Francis’ death in 1547, Henry II offered the château as a gift to his mistress, Diane de Poitiers.
After King Henry II died in 1559, his strong-willed widow and regent Catherine de’ Medici forced Diane to exchange it for the Château Chaumont. Queen Catherine then made Chenonceau her own favourite residence, adding a new series of gardens. Catherine spent a fortune on the château and on spectacular nighttime parties in the grand gallery. In 1560, the first-ever fireworks display seen in France took place during the celebrations marking the ascension to the throne of Catherine’s son Francis II.
In 1733 the estate was sold for 130,000 livres (about $49 million today) to a wealthy squire named Claude Dupin. His wife, Louise Dupin, was the natural daughter of the financier Samuel Bernard and the actress Manon Dancourt of the Comedie Francaise in Paris.
The widowed Louise Dupin saved the château from destruction during the French Revolution, preserving it from being destroyed by the Revolutionary Guard because “it was essential to travel and commerce, being the only bridge across the river for many miles.”
In 1913, the château was acquired by Henri Menier, a member of the Menier family, famous for their chocolates, who still own it to this day.
It was even used as a hospital during World War I. In 1951 the Menier family commissioned a restoration of Chenonceau to bring it back to a reflection of its’ former glory.
If you go…reservations are required for a specific time slot. The reservation is free online but must be done in order to buy tickets. In other words, you can’t just turn up and expect to get in – at that point you’re flying standby. They manage the timeslots very closely – in fact Jeffrey tried to sneak us in 1 minute early and was greeted with a firm NON. The tickets are currently priced at €12 and can be purchased at the billeterie upon arrival if you have your reservation.