JULY 2026

In the Loire you should definitely not miss Chateau de Chenonceau. It is one of the most iconic castles in the Loire and offers an interesting castle with diverse gardens. Chateau de Chenonceau is also known as the feminine castle as some iconic ladies have stayed here. Two famous residents were Diane de Poitiers and Catherine de Medici. Both ladies put their stamp on the castle and you can see the feminine influence when visiting. In this blog I will highlight why this makes Chateau de Chenonceau a special visit and why you should visit!

Practical information

Chateau de Chenonceau is one of the most popular castles in the Loire. It was finished in 1513 and is still looking fabulous. The castle itself is not that big, which is why I booked a timeslot when buying tickets online. Tickets cost € 19 per adult. The timeslot is for the castle, which is about a 15 minutes walk from the free parking. When we visited at the end of May, the timeslots were not checked upon arrival at the castle. I think it would have been better if people sticked to the timeslots, as it was super crowded in the small castle. You can also buy tickets at the ticket office itself.

I read some reviews that the restaurants at Chateau de Chenonceau were not good. They also don’t want you to bring in food from outside. We brought some snacks and water bottles, which was fine though. As Chateau de Chenonceau also has their own wines, we had a sit down on the terrace of the self-service restaurant (Bâtiment des Dômes). The food didn’t look too bad, but I didn’t try it given the bad reviews. The strange thing is that ordering the wine took a long time, while it was self-service. Definitely annoying at lunch time but we did like the wine.

Later on we discovered a more fancy restaurant in an Orangerie. It looked fabulous! They serve a buffet lunch for about € 40, which seemed like an okay deal to eat in a beautiful surrounding. Make sure you are hungry if you want to do this.

There also is a little crepe stand which also sells sandwiches at the entrance/exit, near the picknick area.

Chateau de Chenonceau

As it was super crowded I kind of had to look through the crowds to see the beauty of the castle. The design with the covered bridge sure knows how to attract visitors (for good reason!).

My favorite area of the castle were the kitchens in the basement. Somehow it was less crowded as not everybody goes down. It was very Downtown-esque and beautifully decorated with flowers and fake food. Total kitchen inspo for me, now I just need a pot rail for copper pots 😉

Another interesting area was the ballroom, which is located in the part that is above the river. Catherine de Medici added this wing, in the style of Ponte Vecchio of Florence. The original idea was to expand the castle at the other side of the river, but it was never finished due to lack of money.

The chateau has lots of female touches, such as the flower bouqets that you will see throughout. It is very clear that the women who lived here were the important half of the marriage. And the painted ceilings were divine.

Castle gardens & other buildings

A bit of rivalry added an interesting touch to the castle. Diane de Poitiers and Catherine de Medici both have their own garden at opposite sides of the castle. Both gardens have the castle as its backdrop, offering spectacular views and photo opportunities. I equally liked each garden, as they both had their own interesting flowers. Catherine’s garden had lovely rose bushes at the end of May, while in Diane’s garden the digitalis were in full bloom. The borders were not that high yet, so I honestly think they look their best in summertime and not in spring.

Besides these two famous gardens next to the castle, the castle grounds have even more to offer. There is a flower picking garden near the entrance. This is where the flowers are nursed that are used in the beautiful bouqets in the castle. Next to the Orangerie there is another garden area in English style. You can even visit an old pharmacy and a military hospital display. As most visitors focus on the castle and the famous gardens, you will hardly encounter other visitors here. We didn’t visit the maze as we find a frightening experience, but it is there if you want to do something different with the kids.

When strolling the premises we definitely felt the love that the gardeners put into Chateau de Chenonceau. The spectacular flower displays, the original details in the castle and the well designed gardens, make this a very good visit.