Château de Chaumont
Château de Chaumont features on the Gingerguide audio walk through Loire Valley. Give it roughly ~60 min: enough to look, hear a two to three minute story on the spot, and ask the AI guide whatever the story leaves open.
- Type castle
- Suggested visit ~60 min
- Loire Valley Loire Valley guide
About Château de Chaumont
Chaumont sits above the Loire with two famous women behind it, Catherine de Médicis and Diane de Poitiers, and a garden festival that reinvents its park every year.
The first castle rose on this bald hill, the chauve mont that gives Chaumont its name, in the tenth century, built by Odo I, Count of Blois, against Fulk Nerra of Anjou. After Pierre d'Amboise's rebellion the castle was ordered destroyed in 1465, then rebuilt by the d'Amboise family over the following decade. Catherine de Médicis acquired it in 1550, and after the death of Henry II in 1559 she arranged for his mistress Diane de Poitiers to take Chaumont in exchange for Chenonceau.
Protected as a Monument historique since 1840, the château gained lavish stables under Prince Amédée de Broglie in 1877 and was given to the French state by Marie-Charlotte Say in 1938. It now runs as the Domaine de Chaumont-sur-Loire, a museum and cultural estate that has hosted the International Garden Festival since 1992, presenting around twenty new themed gardens each season. During the Second World War, a children's relief charity sheltered over 200 Jewish children here.
Did you know? The name Chaumont comes from chauve mont, meaning bald hill. Odo the First, Count of Blois, put the first castle up here in the tenth century to face Fulk Nerra of Anjou.
How long is a visit to Château de Chaumont?
Set aside roughly ~60 min for Château de Chaumont. That covers a good look and the narrated story, and because you set the pace you can always stay on.
Is Château de Chaumont worth your time?
Château de Chaumont is among the 13 narrated highlights the Gingerguide team chose for Loire Valley, so it is worth a look. Hear the story for the context, then ask the AI guide for anything more.
Nearby stops in Loire Valley
Sources and further reading
Where to check the facts about Château de Chaumont and read more:
Day 2 of the Loire Valley in 2 days itinerary →
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Hear the story of Château de Chaumont
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