#19 - Amazing castles of France

Discover some of the most amazing castles of France, the most haunted, tallest and oldest. 

The castles with amazing histories like Vaux-le-Vicomte near Paris, built by a King’s minister and so beautiful it made the King seethe with jealousy and what followed was an epic tragedy and also kickstarted the Palace of Versailles project. The castle that Napoleon loved best, the one where you can stay for the night and a Duke will bring you breakfast in bed! 

France has more than 40,000 castles and whilst we can’t cover them all in this episode, you will discover some of the most incredible chateaux and their fascinating legends, histories and the people who lived in them… 

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Janine : Bonjour and welcome to The Good Life France podcast – everything you want to know about France and more. I’m Janine Marsh, I’m an author and travel writer and though I was born in London, UK, I now live in a tiny village in the far north of France and my home is turning into a sort of zoo! This week my husband Mark bought home two more puppies who needed a home! We already have two one year old Labradors Ronnie and Reggie, 8 cats, a rescue dove, 30 something chickens, geese, ducks and a rescue hedgehog. But we’re lucky to live in the countryside and have a big garden and plenty of room in our hearts so welcome to Lady Ella and Nina Simone – little fluffy bundles of fun! 

Olivier: Bonjour, I’m Olivier, but you can call me Oli if it’s easier for you. That’s ok. 
I’ve been living in the UK for 20 years now but as you can probably hear, I am French. But how French? That is the question… If we play the game “who is the Frenchest” with Janine, I am not sure I will win. So, we won’t ;-) 

Janine: No, no let’s play! 

Olivier: No, let’s not! What I am sure about though is that I love France, its culture, its food… so the more we talk about it, the better.

And that’s exactly what we are doing in this podcast. Talking of which… what’s on this episode menu Janine?

Janine: Well a couple of episodes ago we answered a listener’s question about chateaux – how many are there in France we were asked and the answer was – more than a mind-boggling 40,000 castles. And we’re often asked what are the most beautiful castles in France… so today we’re going to be talking all things French chateaux – the oldest, the biggest, the most haunted, chateaux that have amazing tales to tell and chateaux that make you stop in your tracks because they are so incredibly gorgeous. 

People always ask me what my favourite chateau is – and it’s impossible to answer, there are just so many but there are a few that I have a real soft spot for and they’re coming up in this podcast. 

I’ll start with the Chateau of Vaux-le-Vicomte, which is in Ile de France, about 55km from the centre of Paris. 

This castle is the largest private residence in France, owned by the de Vogue family. Not only is it exquisitely beautiful but it has the most amazing history… 

You may have seen it on telly and not even realised. If you’re a fan of the TV series “Versailles”, the raunchy bonk-buster serial about the shenanigans of the Royals and aristos of Louis XIV’s court - you've seen Vaux-Le-Vicomte. Much of the filming took place not at the Chateau of Versailles as you may think. The producers of “Versailles” have really done their homework on the look of the day, from the shoes and dresses and hairstyles to the furnishings and architecture. Whilst the Chateau of Versailles may seem an obvious choice as the location for filming in fact, the décor there is largely 18th century, a hundred years too late for the authentic look they sought. Vaux-Le-Vicomte has retained its 17th century beauty, and, as the prototype and inspiration for the later Chateau de Versailles – it was the perfect place to film.

The story of the chateau is one of passion, betrayal, corruption and despair. A story which shaped the history of France. You feel it in the kitchens with their gleaming copper pans, in the beautifully furnished rooms with their paintings and tapestries and gilded this and that, in the gardens which look as they had when Le Notre, later Louis XIV’s favourite gardener designed them. There is an echo of the past here and you can't avoid it.

Enter those grand gates and climb the stairs in front of the huge courtyard, and there 352 years ago stood theproud creator of the castle, a man called Nicolas Fouquet, waiting to welcome his King on a visit. It was 17 August 1661, a sweltering hot day. Fouquet had served Louis XIV well and loyally as Minister of Finances, and that night he hoped to wow his King by entertaining him in great style.

Fouquet had brought together three greats from French history, Le Vau - the architect, le Brun - the painter, and le Notre the gardener. For the first time, a property was built when both the look of the home AND the garden had been considered as a whole package. It wasn’t just fabulous, it was dazzling. 

The chateau took 20 years to create. And we now know it pretty much bankrupted Fouquet but he was a man obsessed, everything had to be right. The night the King came, it wasn’t quite finished. Painters of ceilings and walls downed tools, masons carving statues swept up and made everything look as good as it could and got out of the way before the king arrived. Even unfinished, the result was stupendous.

The King’s carriage swept into the courtyard, he alighted and stood at the bottom of the stairs looking up at Fouquet above him on the stairs beaming, proud of his achievement, quite possibly the most beautiful castle in all of France. The fate of the minister and the chateau was sealed. Never again would anyone stand higher than Louis XIV or have a chateau more beautiful than his.

Instead of staying the night in the suite of roomsdesigned especially for him, with a view of a giant crown in a lake, which he was supposed to see upon waking next morning, the king cut short his visit, though he enjoyed dinner cooked by the great French cook Vatel, and travelled to his own chateau of Fontainebleau, a journey of three hours by horse and carriage.

Resentful of Fouquet's opulent display of wealth, incensed by being left at the bottom of the stairs, listening to the whispers of those who sought to remove Fouquet from his position of trusted advisor, the 21 year old king had his minister arrested just two weeks later on 5 September 1661.

Louis took everything in the Chateau – the furniture, paintings, tapestries, ornaments, beds and even the orange trees in their pots in the garden. He also took Le Vau, Le Brun and Le Notre and commanded them to help him turn Versailles, then a glorified hunting lodge, into the incredible monument we see today.

Meanwhile poor Fouquet went through a show trial, accused of swindling his royal master. Crooked witnesses and fake paperwork fuelled by jealous ministers who wanted the King’s allegiance for themselves meant Fouquet spent the rest of his life in Prison, dying 19 years later. From that day no king ever slept there. It took Mrs Fouquet 10 years to get the castle back and she lived there until 1705. After that it got sold and resold several times then left abandoned and in ruins until a sugar baron, Alfred Sommier bought it and he and his descendants the Vogue family have spent the last 140 years restoring and preserving this magnificent castle. I know, I talked a long time there but it really is that special.

Olivier: I think my favourite chateau is the chateau of Guédelon, in Burgundy. You may know it from a UK TV series which followed its creation and progress. 
It’s the idea behind it that I find fascinating: a team of about 50 builders, building a medieval castle, from scratch, in a middle of a forest, with the methodology and the tools used in the 13th century. Every craft needed to build a medieval castle is there: stonemasons, carpenters, blacksmiths, tilers, weavers, dyers, rope-makers, and many more, all working to revive the 800-year-old crafts and skills required to build such a castle. 

It even has a flour mill that has also been constructed from scratch, with the aim of producing the same type of flour as in the Middle Ages. And that bit is based on the remains of a 12th century water mill found in the Jura region not very far away. They bake bread made from the Guédelon-ground flour and baked in the castle’s oven!

It’s a folie basically. One of those crazy projects… But it’s fantastic! It started in 1997, as an idea of local French chateau restorer and owner Michel Guyot. He and his brother Jacques have a passion for historic buildings and for restoring them. The work inspired in a passion to learn more about building a castle from scratch. It should be finished in 2025. You can visit it of course and I understand you can also “apporter votre pierre à l’édifice” which literally translates to “bring your own stone to the building” – That means: play your part, do your bit to help.

Plus, a fun fact: some of the techniques that have been rediscovered here are being used in the reconstruction of Notre dame in Paris.

Janine: I remember watching that TV series, and yes, I agree. It’s incredible.

Well I mentioned Fontainebleau, the chateau that Louis XIV went to from Vaux-le-Vicomte, it’s not far away. And it too has an astounding history. 500 years older than Versailles. The original chapel was consecrated by Thomas Becket, AKA Saint Thomas of Canterbury and Thomas à Becket. This incredible place has more than 1500 rooms and is the only royal and imperial chateau in France that has been continuously inhabited for eight centuries. From the 12thCentury, what was a royal hunting lodge in a vast forest was renovated, extended and embellished by various Kings, Queens Emperors and Empresses until it became the extraordinary, enormous castle you can visit and ogle at today…

It was a favourite of the royals including Francois 1er, the Renaissance King, Louis XIV and Marie-Antoinette – in one of the rooms is a bed commissioned by her, but she never got to sleep on it, she lost her head before she had the chance. It was also a favourite of Napoleon Bonaparte and there are lots of memories of the General, his hats, clothes and personal belongs, his son’s cradle, toys and books – I love this place as you get a sense of Napoleon the man, he loved bling and power and money but he loved his son, he was a doting dad.  And it’s here that Napoleon said au revoir to his personal guard when he was exiled from France. It’s a gorgeous, gorgeous castle full of truly stunning art, carpets, furniture, paintings, tapestries, gorgeous gardens – I think it’s one of the best chateaux I’ve ever been to. 

Olivier: Now for the oldest castle in France, which like Guédelon, is in Burgundy. The Château de Thil was built… wait for it, 1273 years ago! It’s actually a bit of a ruin, but not that much, you can still see its beautiful shape.. a majestic ruin – you can visit for free – it’s in the town of Vic-Sous-Thil, not far from Beaune, Dijon or Vezelay. There are loads of really old castles in France, some not much younger than this like the castle of Montbazon, in the Loire Valley. It was built between 991 and 996 A. D., and its keep, a fortified tower is 92 feet high! It was built by Foulque Nerra, Count of Anjou, a region in the Loire Valley. He was famous for his many castles and his bad temper. He was part of the family line of the English house of Windsor as well as the French monarchs. 

And another old castle, not too far away in the Loire Valley is Le Chateau d’Angers in the town of the same name. Its outer walls are 10 feet thick and it was considered impregnable in the day. It has unusual “stripes” of limestone and a darker stone called schist. It has 17 towers. Inside, you can see the oldest medieval tapestry in the world, La Tenture de l’Apocalypse, from the 14th century, depicting the Biblical book of Revelation.

Janine: There are also some fabulous tapestries at the Hopital Saint-Jean, itself a masterpiece of Plantagenet Gothic architecture. These tapestries are more modern, by an artist called Jean artist Jean Lurçat ( born 1892) called Le Chant du Monde - a poetic and symbolic vision of the world in which the artists defines Man’s place within the universe. They are extraordinary.

So, onto the tallest castle in France and another of my favourites. The chateau de Brissac in the Loire, is a whopping seven-storeys high! It’s 48 metres, 157 feet high and known as the “giant of the Loire Valley.” It was first built in the 11th century and updated and extended over the years. Records show the family of the Dukes of Brissac moved in on May 26th 1502. Their descendants still live there to this day. I met the current duke when I visited, he’s lovely – very down to earth! It’s also one of the most amazing bed and breakfast venues I’ve ever seen. The Duke rents out a couple of incredible rooms with four poster beds, tapestries and antiques galore – and he told me that he nips into the nearby town to pick up your croissants for breakfast! I asked the Duke how many rooms they were and he told me about 200! It’s also said that Brissac is haunted! A gruesome double murder took place here in the 15th century. The owner at that time, one Jacques de Brézé caught his wife with her lover. He ran them both through with his sword, pinning their souls forever between the castle walls, it's said you can hear their sighs on a dark night...

Olivier: Ok let’s leave the Loire and head south to Dordogne where it’s said you will find France’s most haunted castle – the fairy tale pretty Chateau de Puymartin, between the lovely medieval towns of Sarlat and Les Eyzies. This is another tale of a wife and her lover – it seems to have happened a lot in the old days! People sometimes claim to see "La Dame Blanche" ("The White Lady") running towards the chateau's North Tower. Haunted by the spirit of the owner’s wife Thérèse de Saint-Clar, who died after 15 years of being locked in a tiny room in the chateau's tower in the 16th-century. The story goes that her husband locked her up after he found out she had a lover. She paces the tower at night…

Janine: Blimey! There are quite a few apparently haunted castles in France including Versailles which we’re not going to include in this podcast as we’ll be doing a specificVersailles episode at some point. 

Olivier: So, I just need to point out, because we Frenchies like to get our facts right – Versailles isn’t actually a castle – it’s a Palace. And what is the difference you might ask? Ok – a castle is usually fortified and a residence too, and a palace, the word comes from Rome’s Palantine Hill where the rich and famous built luxurious houses, is not fortified – it’s a statement home – look at me, I am rich and I am wonderful – that’s what a palace says!

Janine: in case anyone just listened in at this point and heard Oli say look at me I am rich and I am wonderful – he’s not bragging about himself though he is wonderful, and I have had quite a few emails from people telling me quote ‘that they love his wonderful silky tones’ – strangely I have had none about my London cockney accent!

Olivier: I do love your cockney accent Janine

Janine: Thank you Oli! Anyway – back to Dordogne again for one of the most high up castles in France – the lovely chateau de Beynac. Not quite nosebleed high, but if you don’t like heights, don’t hang out over the ramparts at this one! The castle rises hundreds of feet above the Dordogne River. It’s within eyesight of its adversary, Castelnaud which is even higher up and just minutes up the river. Both fortresses were focal points of the Hundred Years War. To understand which country – France or Britain – controlled which castle, read a book. It’s too hard to explain here – or maybe we will do a podcast! You’ll see signs to reach the castle by climbing a twisting, cobblestone path flanked by dreamy stone cottages. What they don’t tell you is that you don’t need to walk up the steep path. There’s a road going up to a parking lot near the castle entrance! 

Olivier: There is one palace in France that’s not like the others – it’s the Palais des Papes, the Popes Palace in Avignon. There was a time in the early 1300’s when the seat of the Catholic Church was in Provence, not Rome. And the Popes built themselves a palace – In fact it is the largest Gothic Palace on earth, breathtakingly beautiful with ceremonial halls, chapels, papal apartments, and a kitchen so big you could roast up to 50 oxen at once in there! 

Janine: And one of the largest is Chambord also in the Loire Valley. It isn’t for nothing that the Loire is known as the Valley of the Kings! Teeming with turrets and towers, gleaming white stone contrasts with its pointy black slate roof, it is a magnificent display of power and taste. Built by Francois 1er, Francis 1 in English, who I mentioned earlier, known as the Renaissance King as he built castles in the French Renaissance style and invited Leonardo da Vinci to come and stay in his castle Clos Luce in the Loire. Leonardo said yes, left Italy on a donkey carrying his belongings including the Mona Lisa painting which Francois put in his bathroom, and lived the rest of his life in France. Anyway, Francois built Chambord as a symbol of his power, 426 rooms, 282 fireplaces and 83 staircases including a double helix spiral staircase said to be designed by Leonardo. It is so big, and it was so expensive with its ornate ceilings and walls that it was never finished in Francois lifetime but it’s absolutely glorious – just as he intended

Olivier: If you’re in Paris and you want to do a castle day trip – you’ve got plenty of choice, but these are our top 4 - 

Chenonceau is about an hour from Paris Montparnasse to Tours and then 25 minutes by local train to Chenonceaux train station which is a 400m walk from the castle ticket office.

The chateau is famous for its flowers. A master florist creates magical floral displays in every room, many of the blooms grown in the castle’s own gorgeous gardens. It’s a fairy tale pretty castle, beautifully furnished, and has the most amazing onsite restaurant – L’Orangerie. This 16th-century castle built on the River Cher with a lovely, iconic bridge commissioned by Diane de Poitiers, mistress of Henry II, and enlarged by Catherine de Medicis (his wife, once she ousted Diane...)

The palace of Versailles is also not far from Paris, easy to reach by train – but as we said Versailles is coming up with its own episode – which will last about 12 hours I reckon.

Janine: I had a flower arranging lesson with that florist at the castle – it was amazing. Definitely another of my favourites. 

Another easy day trip castle is the Chateau de Chantilly, in Picardy, one of the most beautiful Renaissance castles in France and very easy to reach from Paris. Take a 23 minuteTER train ride from Gare du Nord, then take the free shuttle bus or take the 30 minute walk if you fancy seeing the pretty town en route. Enjoy the opulent interior, an incredible art collection, stunning horse show, the gorgeous gardens with a beautiful hamlet which inspired Marie-Antoinette. And, not to be missed in the chateau restaurant - dessert with famous Chantilly cream.

And no. 4, Vaux le Vicomte which we spoke of earlier is also easy to reach. 

Olivier: Well, we’ve only got another 39,982 or so castles to go and we’ll have covered them all! But we’re almost out of time and it is that bit again, where we answer a listener’s question. So Janine, what have we been asked this week?

Janine: This week’s question is from Linda Sherwood of Vancouver, Canada. She says “I read that in France it is the law to buy a ticket for your snail if you take it on the train in France – is that true?”

Hmmm – well it’s a strange one alright but, we always do our very best to answer every questions so Olivier – true or false, snails travelling on French trains must be ticket holders… 

Olivier: Erm… I don’t have a snail, I have a cat, but I know it is true – but only for snails that are alive and without garlic and butter sauce.

Janine: I don’t have a pet snail either, I have 4 dogs, 8 cats, a hedgehog, a dove, 4 geese, 8 ducks, 32 chickens – and a partridge in a pear tree - not really, not that last one, but no snail.

But Linda – Oli is right – it is true! French law states that “all animals travelling on the rail network must have a ticket” – and in fact a few years ago, a passenger with a snail (no I don’t know why he had a snail with him, maybe he was going to a snail race, we have an annual snail race in my village so maybe he was on his way here), a real snail alive and snailing, not in butter, was fined for not buying a ticket for it! It was reported in all the papers and eventually the fine was dropped.   

Olivier: Feel free to keep sending those questions in – we love to answer them! Send them to janine@thegoodlifefrance.com and we’ll do our best to help. 

Janine: Thank you so much for listening and a huge thank you to everyone sharing this podcast – we’re incredibly thankful to you.

We’ve got a growing list of podcasts on all things French for you to listen to – from how to be a Parisian in less than one hour to cheese!

Meanwhile, for more things French and fabulous from culture and history to food and wine and everything in between, you can find me on www.thegoodlifefrance.com where you can subscribe to my fun newsletter, this podcast and to my award winning, free magazine at magazine.thegoodlifefrance.com. Yes sometimes the best things in life really are free – just askthe more than 12 million readers who enjoyed the last 5 issues! And a new issue coming out very shortly! And, just a little shameless plug for my three books My Good Life in France, My Four Seasons in France and Toujours la France. I’ve had the honour to be nicknames the female Peter Mayle, the man who wrote A year in Provence, which is such a wonderful compliment. Anyway they’re on Amazon and all good bookshops online and in high streets. 

Olivier: I can highly recommend them!

Janine: Thank you Oli!

Janine: And I can highly recommend Paris Chanson!

But for now, it’s au revoir from me.

Olivier: And goodbye from me.

Janine: Speak to you soon!