Château de Gizeux

Home to two of the most beautiful galleries in France, the Château de Gizeux is a Loire valley treasure trove with its rich history and the many activities enlivening it today. The most ancient parts of the Château de Gizeux recall the family of the poet Joachim du Bellay, who were proprietors of Gizeux for 350 years. Over more than three centuries, the Du Bellays profoundly transformed the building, as medieval austerity gave way to Renaissance charm.
Among the numerous rooms in the château, two are particularly remarkable, the François I gallery and the king’s castles gallery. The first dates back to the end of the reign of Henri IV; it was imagined by Italian artists at the request of Marie d’Yvetot, the wife of Martin du Bellay. She had it decorated with numerous paintings mythological scenes, which have been excellently conserved. As for the second gallery, the true showpiece of the monument, it came into being towards 1680. It contains no less than 400m² of mural paintings celebrating the royal châteaux of Chambord, Vincennes, Fontainebleau and Versailles. Depictions of these prestigious historic monuments are complemented by charming pastoral scenes, emblematic of rural life in seemingly bucolic times.
A tour of the château also allows the visitor to immerse himself in the 18th century by exploring one corps de logis (main building) and intimate salon after another.

Marquetry furniture and Louis EV armchairs decorate elegant rooms with furnishings officially listed as historic monuments. Functional until the 1970s, the kitchen has survived as precious testimony to castle life over the preceding decades. A wood stove is still present, as are a sizable number of copper utensils: a turbot kettle, a jam pan, saucepans, etc… On quite another score, when central heating was installed in the 19th century, it was a sign that modern times had arrived.
More recent history will likewise interest the visitor; during World War II, while the Germans were occupying the château, the cellar served as a hiding place for Résistance fighters.
In addition to the 15th-century chapel and the 18th-century stables, the proprietors of the Château de Gizeux, Géraud and Stéphanie de Laffon, propose a sojourn in an idyllic setting as their guests in chambres d’hôtes combining old-time charm and modern-day comfort. Day in and day out, they enliven their heritage castle with activities to be enjoyed by visitors of all ages: unaccompanied or guided visits, costumed or recounted tours by sunlight or candlelight. A number of children’s workshops (gardening, story-telling and tasting, bread oven, heraldry) bring back the richness of the life that has always defined the unbelievable château of Gizeux.