2021 - Loire
My journey through the Loire Valley in 2021 brought together four castles: Langeais, Ussé, Azay-le-Rideau and Chenonceau. Each has a different character, from the fortified walls of Langeais to the long gallery stretching across the water at Chenonceau.
Their settings are as much a part of the visit as the buildings themselves. Rivers run beneath windows, woodland rises behind towers, and gardens open out beyond richly furnished rooms. Moving between them reveals how differently a château can sit within the landscape, sometimes dominating its surroundings, sometimes seeming inseparable from them.
The region’s food and wine add another dimension to the journey. The vineyards and wines of the Loire, including Chinon and Sancerre, belong to the same landscape of towns, country estates and cultivated land. They offer another way to get to know a place whose reputation extends well beyond its architecture.
These photographs follow the four visits, moving from façades and gardens to the details inside: carved stone, tapestries, furniture and the light falling through tall windows. Together, they form a record of a journey through the Loire Valley and the different worlds contained within its château walls.
Langeais Castle
Langeais stands in the centre of the town, its towers and drawbridge giving it the unmistakable appearance of a fortress. From the street, the high walls suggest a building designed to keep the outside world at a distance. Beyond the entrance, the courtyard reveals a more welcoming side, with windows and carved details that belong to a residence as well as a stronghold.
The site has a long history, but the château seen today is largely the work of the fifteenth century, built under Louis XI. Its architecture reflects a period in which the outward signs of defence could coexist with the comforts and ambitions of courtly life. That contrast is still one of the most interesting things about visiting Langeais: the severity of the exterior gives way to rooms arranged for living, receiving guests and displaying status.
Inside, tapestries, furniture and decorative objects give the rooms texture and a sense of scale. The interiors also owe much to Jacques Siegfried, who bought the château in 1886 and devoted years to restoring and furnishing it. His work shaped the way visitors encounter the building today, recreating settings inspired by life at the end of the Middle Ages.
Moving between the street, courtyard and furnished rooms changes the impression of the château. Details that are almost lost in the broader view become more prominent up close: the carving around an opening, the surface of a textile, the proportions of a doorway. Langeais rewards that closer attention, beyond the first sight of its imposing walls.
Langeais Castle
Langeais Castle
Langeais Castle
Langeais Castle
Langeais Castle
Langeais Castle
Ussé Castle
Ussé rises between the wooded hillside and the valley of the Indre, its pale walls and pointed roofs standing out against the trees. Towers, chimneys and different rooflines overlap, giving the château a silhouette that is easy to associate with a fairy tale.
That association is part of its identity. Ussé is traditionally said to have inspired Charles Perrault’s Sleeping Beauty, and the story accompanies the visit. Looking at the building from the gardens, it is easy to understand why the connection has endured. The château has the familiar ingredients of an imagined castle, yet its appearance comes from generations of alterations to a real home.
Inside, furnished rooms, tapestries and paintings bring a different scale to the visit. Beyond the towers and the legend are spaces made for daily life, ceremony and receiving guests. The furniture and decoration give each room its own character, inviting attention to smaller details after the broad views of the exterior.
The gardens and terraces open the view towards the surrounding valley. Their ordered lines sit beneath the more varied outline of the château, while the woodland provides a darker background to the stone. Seen from different positions, the relationship between the building and its setting keeps changing.
Ussé’s appeal lies partly in that movement between the familiar and the particular. The silhouette recalls a story known since childhood; closer inspection reveals the materials, rooms and accumulated details of a place with a history of its own.
Ussé Castle
Ussé Castle
Ussé Castle
Ussé Castle
Ussé Castle
Ussé Castle
Ussé Castle
Azay-Le-Rideau Castle
At Azay-le-Rideau, water is part of the architecture’s first impression. Built on an island in the Indre, the château stands close to the surface, where its pale façades and slate roofs are reflected. From the banks, the building and its reflection can be seen together, with the surrounding trees framing the view.
The château was rebuilt in the early sixteenth century for Gilles Berthelot and his wife, Philippe Lesbahy. Its design combines French architectural traditions with ideas arriving from Renaissance Italy. The arrangement of the windows, the carved decoration and the prominent staircase give the façades a richness that becomes clearer as the building is approached.
Inside, the visit moves through rooms shaped by different periods of occupation and restoration. Furnishings, textiles and decorative details provide a more intimate counterpart to the exterior. The château’s appearance also owes much to the nineteenth-century Biencourt family, whose alterations helped create the sense of unity seen today.
Outside, the park leaves room to step back from the building. Paths lead through the grounds, offering changing views through branches and across the water. The setting softens the formality of the architecture without hiding its detail: a corner turret, a row of windows or a carved feature can stand out differently from one position to the next.
The water continually changes the view. A still surface holds the outline of the château; small movements break it into fragments. Alongside the solidity of the stone, that shifting reflection gives the setting much of its character.
Azay-Le-Rideau Castle
Azay-Le-Rideau Castle
Azay-Le-Rideau Castle
Azay-Le-Rideau Castle
Azay-Le-Rideau Castle
Chenonceau Castle
Chenonceau stretches across the River Cher, its long gallery resting on a series of arches above the water. From the riverbank, the building appears at once as a residence and a crossing. The relationship with the river gives it a character quite different from the other castles on this journey.
Much of its history is connected with the women who shaped it. Catherine Briçonnet played a central role in the construction of the sixteenth-century residence. Diane de Poitiers later commissioned the bridge across the Cher, and Catherine de’ Medici added the gallery above it. Their successive contributions helped create the château’s distinctive form.
Inside, the furnished rooms offer a more enclosed and detailed world of tapestries, paintings and carved fireplaces. The gallery changes that rhythm. Its length draws the eye through the building, while windows along its sides bring in daylight and views of the river below. It is a space whose setting remains present even from within.
The gardens extend the visit beyond the château. Formal beds and paths create ordered views towards the façades, while the wider grounds offer more sheltered spaces among the trees. Walking between them reveals different relationships between the gardens, the water and the building.
Chenonceau brings these elements together with unusual clarity. The rooms tell the story of a residence shaped by successive owners; outside, the arches and their reflections give the château its most recognisable view. Both deserve time, from the smallest interior details to the full length of the gallery across the Cher.
Chenonceau Castle
Chenonceau Castle
Chenonceau Castle
Chenonceau Castle
Chenonceau Castle
Chenonceau Castle
Chenonceau Castle
Chenonceau Castle