The chateau at Azay-le-Ferron is not one you will find on many 'must see' lists of Loire Valley chateaux but if you are visiting  Southern Touraine you should include this exquisite building in your itinerary. Located in the department of Indre in France, in the village of  the same name, the chateau's architecture is from the XV to the XVIII century. Visiting here is like travelling through history. From the outside you can observe the different influences on its build and design. Each owner has added something to this Chateau, a tower (built during the 15th century), a garden, an entire wing, or just internal corridors.

Closed during winter, the Chateau opens its doors to visitors at the start of spring every year. 

---

There are 18 rooms open to the public. Each of them sumptuously decorated from different periods. The visit takes you through the halls, kitchens, bedrooms, libraries and dining rooms. Children are prompted by the tour guide to discover secret doors that lead to secret passages joining the rooms.

Its interior evokes the life-style of a rich and comfortable rural residence where hunting parties and receptions were organized until the early 20th century.

---

The owners

The history of the Chateau dates back to 1250 with the name of its first owner, Le Chevalier Banneret, Nicolas de Turpin de Crisse. The successive owners remained Barons until 1789. After that, the Chateau was bought by a businessman and later by a banker for Napoleon. In 1833, the Chateau was bought by the Luzarche family; master blacksmiths but they had to donate the Chateau to the city of Tours in 1951 because they had run out of inheritors.

---

The Gardens

The Chateau has 1000 Hectares of woods. There are around 20 hectares of gardens made up into various "styles", like the French style garden, the English style garden, the vegetable garden, the rose garden (with roses going back as far as the XIX century), topiaries, vineyards, orchards and so on.

The chateau caters for different activities all year round from exhibitions to conferences. There are also local produce markets and in their shop you can find examples of honey and other local specialities.

 

 

You can picnic in the gardens and take walks around the woods. There is a path of 4Km. that crosses the park and returns through the village of Azay le Ferron.