Château d' Azay-le-Rideau

After leaving Villandry we drove over to another nearby village to visit Château d' Azay-le-Rideau, completed in 1527 and built on a small island near the banks of the Indre River with its foundation rising straight out of the water. Here's an aerial shot to show how it sits in the river.

After floating back down to earth, we parked the car in a VERY crowded lot about a half mile away from the chateau and walked through a portion of the village. This fellow caught my eye as he lay sprawled on the front step of what is perhaps his master's or mistresses' shop, looking relaxed and unconcerned with tourists streaming past.

But first, our stomachs were ready for lunch so we decided to enjoy a midday repast at this restaurant/cafe not far from the entrance to the chateau. The restaurant portion is inside the ivy-covered building, while a nice outdoor cafe is underneath the trees and umbrellas you see in the photo below.

We opted to dine in the outdoor cafe to take advantage of the beautiful day and nice weather. After I took a couple of pictures of Cindy and her mom at the table, a woman seated at a table behind us offered to take a picture of all of us.

After a very enjoyable lunch, we left the cafe and walked about a quarter-mile to the entrance of Château d' Azay-le-Rideau.

Here, Cindy and her mom stand at the entrance, listening to the audio guides that help you learn the rich history of the chateau.

This is from the courtyard looking to the right side of the chateau.

And this is from the bridge (see aerial shot) looking back toward the courtyard and chateau.

One of many bedrooms in the chateau.

Here, Cindy and her mom are in one of the rooms where the lord of the chateau would hold court or entertain honored guests.

One of many beautiful fireplaces throughout the chateau.

Here is a view of the courtyard from the third floor.

All too soon it was time to take our leave of Château d' Azay-le-Rideau and return to our cottage so we could begin packing everything up in preparation for our departure early the next morning. Later in the evening we drove into Loches for dinner, then returned to the cottage and retired for the night. Our time in France would come to an end the next day when we boarded our flight to return to the U.S., but we had two weeks of photos, videos, and wonderful memories to bring home with us.

We hope you've enjoyed traveling with us by way of this blog and thank you for reading along.

Au revoir!!