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![]() Ever since, Pascal, along with his partner, family and a team of devoted gardeners, have been working hard to give Pesselières back its original shine. Under the layers of shrub land, the remains of a centuries-old garden emerged. But "it was love at first sight," he tells us. It had fallen into disrepair, the château and its river almost entirely buried in tall grasses, its biggest and oldest trees hardly visible. Pascal first laid eyes on the Château de Pesselières and its 55 acres in 2005. As I get older, I feel everything slipping away, and I love everything more passionately,” said Emile Zola, which could easily be owner Pascal Fontanille’s motto as you watch him, wearing thick-rimmed glasses and dressed in knee-high rubber boots and skinny jeans, stroll through his gardens, contemplating each and every flower and every tree as though for the first time. “I spend delightful afternoons in my garden, watching everything around me be alive. Pesselières Castle and its remarkable garden, which is the focal point of a visit here. Jump on a bike and meet the Loire's winemakers For instance, the 18th century vegetable and flower garden, lovingly tended by a team of gardeners that have an enviable at-one-with-nature glow, has no less than 42 varieties of apple. Said to be designed by famed landscape artists Le Nôtre and Edouard André, there's plenty to see here. ![]() The gardens at Bussière are also noteworthy. If however that doesn’t do it for you, the rest of the château will, including a pocket-sized circular library or the lofty dining room with a huge white stone fireplace and table laid out with rotating displays of the most beautiful Gien china. I'm far from being a fishing enthusiast, so believe me when I say that the quirks of this place are enough to pique the interest of even the most disinterested visitor. Today, it's a fully-fledged fishing museum with impressive displays of memorabilia that dates back centuries, including a rare specimen of coelacanth, a prehistoric fish whose fins apparently looked like human limbs. In 2012, Laure and her husband Bertrand took over from her parents and have worked hard at restoring the castle and adding guestrooms on the upper floors of the main château, which look out onto the crisp blue lake below and forested surroundings.īuilt in the 12th century, Bussière previously came with ramparts before being acquired by a musketeer who wanted it as his residence and turned it into a more laid-back affair. From blockbuster landmarks to lesser known spots, as well as hotels where staff will pamper you to no ends, here's what to do in the Loire Valley from Sancerre to Tours, on your next visit to France. The sheer number of sites, as I learnt from my week zipping through the achingly beautiful countryside of flower-filled meadows and rolling vineyards on my road trip with a friend and fellow journalist in tow, makes it very hard to be discerning about which to put on your itinerary. The 170-mile stretch in the middle of the Loire River in central France abounds with hundreds of châteaux (castles) from when the Loire Valley was home to the country's royals. If there ever were a fairytale land then this would be it. (Photo by GUILLAUME SOUVANT / AFP) (Photo credit should read GUILLAUME SOUVANT/AFP via Getty Images) AFP via Getty Images The castle of Chenonceau and its surroundings have been declared "World Heritage of Humanity" by UNESCO. Thus it is nicknamed the castle of the Ladies. ![]() It becomes a place of meditation with the white queen Louise of Lorraine, then it is saved by Louise Dupin during the French Revolution and finally, metamorphosed by Madame Pelouze. Enriched by Diane de Poitiers and enlarged under Catherine de Medicis. ![]() It became a place of meditation with the white queen Louise of Lorraine, then it is saved by Louise Dupin during the French Revolution and finally, metamorphosed by Madame Pelouze. Built in 1513 by Katherine Briconnet and enriched by Diane de Poitiers and enlarged under Catherine de Medicis. This photograph taken on July 16, 2017, shows an aerial view of Chateau Chenonceaux on the River. ![]()
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