Chenonceaux Voyage Tips and guide

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The Chenonceau castle belonged to the Auvergne de Marc family from 1243. When, under Charles VI, Jean de Marc quartered a garrison of English troops in his fortress, the king ordered that all the fortifications be demolished. When the de Marches began to have financial problems, they sold the castle to the financial intendant of Normandy, Thomas Boyer. In 1512 he also purchased the fortress and the mill, which he destroyed, leaving only the old keep. In place of the mill, a rectangular structure was built with projecting towers at the corners, which closed the vestibule with pointed vaults on all four sides. The four rooms on the first floor were connected to the four rooms on the second floor by a wide straight staircase. Thomas Boyer and his wife Katerina, who supervised the large-scale reconstruction, ordered that their initials "T.B.K." be engraved along with the motto: "If the castle is finished, then my memory will remain." After many years of expensive construction work, Cardinal Boyer, Bishop of Bourges, consecrated the chapel of the new castle in 1521. However, Thomas and his wife did not remain in the castle for long: in 1524 the intendant died in Italy while accompanying the king. In 1526 Catherine Boye also died. Their son Antoine, who inherited Chenonceau, lost the castle in 1533 when King Francis I confiscated the estate, ostensibly to compensate for the financial losses he had suffered, for which Thomas Boyer was responsible, but in reality because he wanted to acquire such an extraordinary property, famous for its hunting grounds.

From the Paris area, take the A71 motorway and the A85 motorway, which branches off west north of Vierzon, to exit 11, then a further 13.5 km via the D31, D976 and D41, or take the A10 motorway (L'Aquitaine) to exit 18 and continue south on the D31 past Amboise, before Bléré turn east onto the D40.

• 47.3306771.066141 Chenonceaux train station (Gare de Chenonceaux). (updated Jun 2025)

Map of Chenonceaux

The castle has free parking for cars.

• 47.3251.07061 Chenonceau castle (Château de Chenonceau). Built on the River Cher, "the most elegant, refined and original of the Loire castles" (Janine and Pierre Soisson). (updated Jun 2025)

• Amboise, 15 km northwest on the Loire.
• Montpoupon Castle, in Céré-la-Ronde, 12 km to the south.