CHEVERNY CASTLE

Cheverny is not just a monument, but a family home. For over six centuries, this magnificent estate has belonged to the same family, the Hurault de Vibraye. The current owners, the Marquis de Vibraye, faithfully perpetuate this long tradition in the most beautiful of ways: by living here. They occupy one of the wings of the largest privately-owned châteaux still inhabited in the Loire Valley, and open the rest to the public for a visit far removed from that of the great royal residences, which prioritize the display of the sovereign's power over the well-being of its inhabitants. From the moment you enter, you get the impression that this is a living castle, and this impression is reinforced throughout the visit by the atmosphere that reigns here. The first fortress, erected around 1500, left few vestiges, and was replaced in 1624 by this jewel of classical architecture, all in Bourré stone, the exceptional qualities of tuffeau stone, which hardens and whitens over time. Adorned with busts of Roman emperors, its admirably symmetrical facade is unmistakable. The harmony continues inside, with the extraordinary Louis XIII grand staircase, sculptures, paintings and, of course, furniture, for in a château that has always been lived in, furnishing treasures have accumulated over the centuries. Cheverny served as a model for Hergé, who used the central part to design Captain Haddock's château, Moulinsart. Even the broken step on the grand staircase in Les Bijoux de la Castafiore comes from Cheverny! It's this close link that led the estate to open a permanent exhibition that plunges young and old alike into the world of Tintin. Don't miss the work of comic-book precursor Jean Mosnier, who in the ^17th century reproduced the adventures of Don Quixote on thirty-four panels. If the interior is remarkable, the exterior is no less so, with its park of century-old trees that can be explored by boat or electric car, and its six themed gardens: the vegetable garden, the garden of love, the apprentice garden, the tulip garden with its 500,000 flowers, the sweet garden with its orchard full of flavors and the labyrinth that lets you get lost among the laurel trees. Numerous events, such as the Venetian weekend, enliven the gardens of this most delightful of castles.

Don'tmiss the permanent exhibition " The Secrets of Moulinsart " - from Cheverny to Moulinsart, it's just a stroke of the pen... of genius!