Chenonceaux Voyage Tips and guide

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Chenonceaux is a village in Centre-Val de Loire. This small community on the Cher River is famous for its Chenonceau castle. Other than the Royal Palace of Versailles, it is the most visited château in France. The château is distinctive in being built across the river.

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.

The difference in spelling between the Château's name (Chenonceau) and the village (Chenonceaux) is attributed to Louise Dupin de Francueil, owner of the château during the French Revolution, who is said to have dropped the "x" at the end of its name to differentiate what was a symbol of royalty from the Republic.

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)

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)
• 47.3311071.0671382 Saint-Jean-Baptiste church, 4, Rue du Château. Built in the 12th century and remodelled in the 16th century, it is listed as a historic monument. (updated Jul 2025)
• 47.3305631.0661143 The gatekeeper's house (Maison de garde-barrière) (next to the station). It was built in 1877 with openings reminiscent of the Gothic windows of the nearby castle. It is listed as a historic monument. This is the only crossing guard's house with this style and decor along the entire railway line, which is explained by the desire to harmonize with the Château de Chenonceau and the architectural style of the area, without trying to copy them. (updated Jul 2025)
• 47.331571.0671744 Maison des Pages, 1, Rue du Château. Built in the 16th century, it is included in the supplementary inventory of historic monuments. (updated Jul 2025)

The village is in Touraine-Chenonceaux wine-growing area.

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