Mick Jagger's Château May Be Swanky but It Wasn't My Favorite
Sooo Many Châteaux, Sooo Much Good Wine: Our Road Trip Through the Stunning Loire Valley
Bonjour les amis,
Have you imagined yourself driving through sunny vineyards in France, staying here and there, wandering through flowering gardens, tasting wine and eating delicious local foods along the route?
Yeah, me too. But before I moved to France, I had no idea I’d be doing exactly that with a handsome and wonderful French époux (spouse)! And most of the time when I was alone in Paris before I met my husband, I stayed in the city. Now I have a chance to discover the beauty and incredible variety of le paysage (the landscape).
When you live in France, May is a month of multiple work holidays, so we took advantage and on a fait le pont/we “made a bridge” (think of it like Thanksgiving where you have the Thursday off, then you also take the Friday to create a long weekend—that’s the concept, and a very common French expression).
I’m in the middle of studying for the French Wine Scholar certification (which is no joke by the way—I have to know all the soil types in every part of French wine country—kimmeridgian marl, anyone?—and now I’m kicking myself for skipping earth science in high school). So to help me with my studies, we chose to spend our mini-holiday in the Loire Valley, which is one of France’s most beautiful, and most prominent winemaking regions. It’s only a few hours from Paris by car or train, although we did have des bouchons (traffic jams) on our way out of the city.
The Plan: see a few of the many incredible châteaux along the Loire and get to know the map and the wines of the Loire area in more detail.
We focused on the central part of the Loire (did you know that the Loire is the longest river in France?), because there was just too much to see in only five days.
Now, before the trip there were some negotiations that went on with Monsieur B, who can be described as fou des châteaux (crazy for castles). With his charming storytelling and encyclopedic knowledge, he has managed to convert me into his history sidekick, and franchement, je ne m’y attendais pas (frankly, I wasn’t expecting that). By the end of this trip I was seriously talking about starting a fan page for King François I #hotkingsummer.
That being said, even as a 4-time NYC marathoner, I am no match for my husband’s Olympic-level château stamina. So…we made a spreadsheet and strategized towns, visits, lodgings, meals and yes, des dégustations de vin (wine tastings).
We drove southwest out of Paris and made our way through Blois, Amboise, Vouvray, Montlouis, Bourgueil, Chinon, Tours and lots of other small towns and villages. On the first day, late in the afternoon, we arrived to the Airbnb we’d booked for the night. It was set inside a troglodyte cave, and friends, c’était de la magie (it was magic). Not being much of a cave-dweller myself, I had come in with very low expectations. But the stylish and discreet couple who have renovated this one-of-a-kind space just blew me away.
On our way to our first wine tasting, Monsieur B dropped a celebrity bomb on me. “Veux-tu aller au château de Mick Jagger ?” (Do you want to go to Mick Jagger’s castle?)
When I figured out that he wasn’t joking, I was on board, until I realized he intended to drive into the private entrance of Mick Jagger’s chateau. He literally followed a white van that was turning onto the property, insisting that he saw Mick Jagger in the passenger seat and driving all the way back. I still don’t know if he was lying or not, because I chickened out and made him turn around before Mick got out of the van or set the hounds on us.
But that wasn’t our only brush with château celebrity. When a few days later we arrived at the Château de Brissac (castle #3 of the day, and after I’d had a 10-minute early afternoon power nap on Monsieur B’s shoulder), a nice older gentleman greeted us at the entrance. I took the man for a delightful docent. But after the fact, Monsieur B smiled and told me, non, that was the actual Duc de Brissac (the Duke of Brissac), whose family has been in the château for 800 years (and making wine nearby for a few hundred), just hanging out by the front door saying a warm and friendly “Bonjour !” to every single tourist, even those wearing jorts and crocs.
All the chateaux (and the 12th century Abbaye de Fontavraud, which was a massive and powerful women-led institution for hundreds of years before being turned into an awful prison) were impressive, and I loved to imagine all the goings-on that must’ve taken place. As une flâneuse, I also adored simply meandering around the old towns and stopping here and there to sit in a shady spot.
Monsieur B is not a huge fan of making reservations for dinner, as he delights in discovering just the right spot as we’re experiencing a town or village. But we knew this would be a busy French holiday weekend, and since I had a list from my research on the Michelin site, we locked all our dinners in (and I’m so glad we did!).
My favorite meals were in two very unique restaurants. One, Les Gueules Noirs, near Vouvray, was set in yet another troglodyte cave (Who knew? Cool caves are everywhere in the Loire). The menu was tout petit—a choice of just 2 entrées (remember, entrée in French means “appetizer”) and 2 plats (main courses). But c’était tellement bon ! (It was really good) and we drank an old vines Vouvray: Le Portail from Champalou. Extraordinaire !
The second experience was a complete surprise. I had researched a place for Sunday lunch as we’d be on our way back to Paris, and I’d read (again on the Michelin site—a great resource for finding good spots) about Ardent. I liked that they said it was in some sort of nature preserve. Sounded good for a meal on the route home. The thing is, I went ahead and reserved through Michelin, so I never even saw the website, or the extent of, this amazing place before our GPS sent us into the forest!
Turns out, it’s a hotel, or more specifically, a group of luxury lodges, each decorated by a different artist or designer. Le déjeuner (lunch) was unforgettable. Even with all the great food we have around us in France (and all the other excellent food I’ve had the pleasure to taste over years working in the restaurant biz, this was the first meal I have eaten in a long while that was truly inspirational and innovative from an artistic perspective, while also being very delicious. The atmosphere is warm and friendly, no fancy tablecloths, but lots of attention and plenty of joy.
The chef, Thomas Besnault himself brought us our last little bite, so I had a chance to tell him I think he’s a genius. If you’re on a romantic couples trip in the Loire Valley and you’ve got some money to spend, don’t ask questions. Just go there.
As to les vins de la Loire, I had been very lucky to taste some of the wines of this region and I already knew I loved Vouvray, for example—an appellation that makes crisp still and sparkling white wines from the chenin grape. But actually driving into these towns, seeing the vines in the fields, and meeting the winemakers and local restaurateurs who are the champions of the region was a privilege and a lot of fun.
My favorite chateau of this trip? Villandry with its magnificent gardens. Monsieur B and I both also really loved the Château d’Amboise, perched high above the Loire, but we were disappointed that the tomb of Leonardo DaVinci was closed for des travaux (renovations) on the chapel where he is in repose.
Bref (in short), if you haven’t paid a visit to la vallée de la Loire, I really recommend it, and it’s a pretty easy jump from Paris (although you will need a car or driver if you want to see multiple towns and villages—or buy lots of wine). Take me with you!
If you’re planning a trip or you have any questions about France, drop me a message or comment and I’ll try to help.
Bisous,
Karen
Regarding the number of chateau visits..."you can't always get what you want". 😆 Love the photos in this post...gorgeous.
Just chiming in that it's been so enjoyable reading through your posts. I'm taking notes on this one - a friend and I did see the Château d’Amboise last June, and now I have lots of restaurants to try for my next trip. And as someone who peeked over the wall of Georgia O'Keefe's place in NM years ago, ya got me thinking...!