Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
ence more than a defensive fortress. While Langeais makes a show of its defenses, castles
built just 50 years later (such as Azay-le-Rideau) give not a hint of fortification.
Visiting the Château:
The interior is late Middle-Ages chic. It's the life's work of
a 19th-century owner who was a lover of medieval art. He decorated and furnished the
rooms with 15th- and 16th-century artifacts or good facsimiles. Most of what you see is
modern-made in 16th-century style.
The palace is decked out as palaces were: designed to impress, and ready to pack
and move. There were bedrooms for show and bedrooms for sleeping. The
banquet room
table would have groaned with food and luxury items—but just one long, communal nap-
kin and no forks. Belgian tapestries on the walls still glimmer with 500-year-old silk
thread. As you wander, notice how the rooms—with hanging tapestries, foldable chairs,
and big chests with handles—could have been set up in a matter of hours. Big-time
landowners circulated through their domains, moving every month or so.
In the so-called
Wedding Hall,
wax figures re-create the historic marriage that gave
Langeais its 15 minutes of château fame. It was here that King Charles VIII secretly wed
14-year-old Anne (duchess of Brittany), a union that brought independent Brittany into
France'sfold.(Aneight-minutesound-and-lightshowexplainstheevent—usuallyinEng-
lish at :15 past each hour.)
Thetop-floormuseumhasarareseriesof16th-century
tapestries
featuringnineher-
oes—biblical, Roman, and medieval. One of just three such sets in existence, with seven
of the original nine scenes surviving.
Finish your visit by enjoying commanding
town views
from the ramparts.
Villandry (vee-lahn-dree) is famous for its extensive gardens, considered to be the best
in the Loire Valley. Its château is just another Loire palace, but the grounds—arranged in
elaborate geometric patterns and immaculately maintained—make it a
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sight (worth
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for gardeners). Still, if you're visiting anyway, it's worth three extra euros to tour
the château as well.
