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Blois
The Royal City of Blois sits proudly by the banks of the Loire with its skyline dominated by its cathedral and famous chateau. The city was the favoured stronghold of the kings of France for 100 years, With the chateau being the principle royal residence from when Louis XII established his court here in 1498 until Henry IV moved it to Paris in 1598. Blois is the ‘prefecture’ (capital) of the department of Loire-et-Cher and is the established business centre of a farming district which produces wheat, vegetables (especially asparagus) and wine in abundance. Auguste Poulain opened a confectionary-chocolate factory in Blois in 1848, the site now is a hotel but his legacy lives on and is evident on almost every street corner.
The city is a good place to walk as it has many fine examples of ancient town houses to be found in its ‘old quarter’ on streets such as the rue Pierre de Blois and the rue du Puits-Chatel.
There are also fine gardens within the Bishops Palace offering wonderful views of the city and the Loire river.
Just below the Château on rue St-Laumen, is the Church of St Nicholas, which is nicer than the cathedral and worth a visit (daily 9am–6.30pm)
There are other attractions provided, with the cavernous Maison de Magie, (House of Magic) which can be found on the far side of the chateau esplanade, offering a variety of optical illusions. They may not convince or entertain today's 'techno-children' quite as much as previous generations but there is a less formal room dedicated to local impresario, Robert Houdin (not to be confused with Harry Houdini) which may hold their interest. The afternoon magic shows are in mime, so at least there is no need to be fluent in French! Even if you don't actually go in to the show ,it is worth the wait outside until the mechanical dragons appear at the windows.
The Chateau of Blois is not only one of the most prestigious Renaissance monuments in France but also a brilliant illustration of the evolution of the French architecture from the Middle Ages to the 17th century. It has a great royal history from Louis XII who built the oldest part of the chateau to Francois I who added the renaissance wing with the unique open circular staircase.
The medieval castle became a royal residence and the political capital of the kingdom under Louis XII. At the beginning of the 1500’s, the king initiated a reconstruction of the castle and the creation of a renaissance garden. These were later lost with the formation of Avenue Victor Hugo.
This wing, of red brick and grey stone, forms the main entrance to the château, and features a statue of the mounted king above the entrance.
Inside the chateau has been returned to its former splendour with particular emphasis put on restoring the floor tiles to their original condition.
Quite overwhelming actually, not for your average semi!
The chateau features its own ‘son et lumière ‘- which is worth hanging around for -(May to mid-Sept daily; €9.50), which takes place in the courtyard late on summer evenings. The usual melodramatic historical narrative, backed by a light show and classical music, is presented in English on Wednesdays.
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