Kids will love the working drawbridge
at Chateau de Langeais, well the ones with imaginations, as it evokes images of knights and castles. The walk along the ramparts will also delight them. Plus they have a good garden and playground to run around in.
In 1491 Chateau de Langeais was
chosen as the venue for the marriage of Charles
VIII and the 14 year old Duchess Anne de
Bretagne, which brought Brittany into the
Kingdom of France and helps give the chateau its
place on the tourist map of the region.
This is reproduced with a display of wax figures and an informative film.
The display has been described both as
'creepy / hilarious wax figures' and 'lavishly costumed and strikingly realistic characters'...you'll have to judge for yourself!
The
majority of restoration work to the chateau was undertaken
by Jacques Siegfried who has added many fine examples of 15th
century furniture and tapestries to help return the interior
to something like its earlier splendour. He bequeathed it to
the Institute of France in 1904 and they remain its current
guardian.
You have access to the projecting parapets
of the main towers which offers great views
over the town.
Within the gardens you are also met by the second building of the site.
A keep dating back to 1000AD, built by Faulk (Foulques) Nerra, a former count of Anjou – which is unusual as although most of the chateaux of the region were built on former fortress sites, few have any remains of the original buildings – here is an exception which shows how building had progressed through the centuries. I know which one I’d chose to live in! Although they are only 200 mtrs apart they are separated by 5 centuries - what's that distance over time formula
again?
There are formal gardens between the chateau and the keep but if you continue past these further up the slope it
is well worth the hike, especially with kids, as its here you will find the play area as well as a great tree house curling itself around a large cedar tree. This part of the gardens makes a great place for a picnic.
You also get great views of our favourite bridge
over the river Loire
from the park
|
Rates:
Adult: € 9.80.
youth 18 to 25 years: € 7.80.
Children 10 to 17 years: € 5.00.
Children under 10 years free.
Opening times:
February-March: 9:30 am to 17:30.
Between April to 12 November from 9:30 to
18:30.
Jul-Aug: 9:00 to 19:00.
November 13 to January 31 from 10:00 to 17:00. |
External links:
www.chateau-de-langeais.com
Official
website of Chateau
Blogroll:
https://loirevalleyexperiences.blogspot.revisiting-chateau-de-langeais.html
