chateau of fougeres-sur-bievre

We noticed the old walls of the castle on the way from Cheverny to Blois and decided to explore it. It was really nice: the walls of the 'sleeping beauty' castle are untouched and bring you back to the old ages. There are some funny displays for kids there that a little bit destroyed my impressions, but I do understand that children may enjoy them. The Castle grounds with nice gazebo and bright roses look beautiful and cheerful.

I enjoyed my visit to the chateau. It didn't take very long and with just a brief leaflet in English I felt it was suitable. Unfortunately as the chateau boasts a medieval dungeon I was looking forward to visiting it, but the dungeons were not on the self guided tour.The entry price was suitable but if I was a family it would have proved expensive for what it was.

We were travelling from Amboise to the chateau at Cheverny, and we saw signs to this chateau along the way. We then discovered that it was actually on our route, and our guidebook suggested that it was worth seeing. So we took a break on our trip, to see Fougeres, and were very glad that we did. Fougeres is neither large nor glamorous, and its rooms are barely furnished, but it had a special atmosphere all its own, and it was a pleasure to have it very largely to ourselves. It seems to have been built more as a fortress than a stately home, but a later owner tried to soften it. We are very glad that we stopped off to have a look around, and would recommend anyone else who would like to see one of the less famous (i.e. less crowded) chateaux during their time in the Loire to do likewise.

This is billed as a Chateau but it is really just a Castle, a 15th century fortress lacking pretension, open to experience the feel of the time. It really brought out the kid in me, fulfilling my early visions of medieval times. The open construction showed how these fortifications were built. There are examples of how wood frames were attached, how mud walls were built. It is very educational. This is a National Monument, operated by the government. The gift shop is also geared towards kids and education, fun too. I wish we had young children with us!

The chateau stands at the centre of the village.its moats long since filled in . Inside the courtyard there is an arcade, which gives you time to ruminate on what might have been here in its history.... because there is only bare bones now-days. That's fine if you like having a castle with turrets to yourself, but persevere . The chapel inside the chateau retains few features but the gallery is interesting. Photographing its outlines is worth taking the time at late afternoon as shadows create a super outlook. Very peaceful

I chose this chateau thinking that there were presentations on chateau construction. I'm not certain if we just missed everything, but we saw presentations that were made by schoolkids?? Anyway, it was almost entirely empty, which made it enjoyable because we had the place to ourselves. However, it was not my favorite place to visit.

An interesting castle. The rooves are magnificent and there is a real feel of defeding a castle. Well worth a visit

Sorry, that's all I can review as I was on way to second principal chateau of day. I just decided to stop to snap a few pictures of the medieval appearing chateau, but wandered into the gift shop, too. It was the best of any of the chateaux in that its inventory was interesting rather than pricey. I picked up several items, but their system wouldn't accept my US, chipless credit card, and I didn't dare to spend cash that I may have needed for next chateau.

This is a very interesting chateau and a bit off the beaten track. After you have seen all the fairy tale chateaux of the area, it is nice to come to this one and see how they really lived. This chateau is more like a fortress and is a little older. It is not very crowded, so you can visit at your own leisure. One of the interesting points of this chateau is that they show you how the chateaux were built.Just outside of the chateau entrance is a picnic table right next to the stream. It makes a lovely place for a picnic, with the chateau right at your fingertips.It is very peaceful area and makes for a lovely outing!!!

Our third chateau of the day, arrived there mid afternoon, so we had a fairly quick tour. It is well worth the time to go through it. A little older than some others, with the Reniassance touches added later, it has an exhibit that demonstrates the methods of construction of the chateaus. Simply furnished. Smaller but still impressive. Closes at 4:30 and they are very strict about that. Interesting church behind the chateau.

Quiet and away from the tourist crowds. Interesting, athough most of the explanatory plaques were in french only.

Its height and beautyWhen we were there in off-season, it was not open for tours, but it was still magnificent to admire, and the ancient little church behind it was open for us to visit. Also across the street from the castle was the old village lavanderie by the river.

A lesser known and underrated chateau - we had the place to ourselves. It is a good contrast to the many grand chateaux in the region and, whilst it has little in the way of furnishings, you can explore the rooms and see the original timbers in the roof. The atmosphere is great and it is very picturesque. Well worth the visit.

This chateau is different from many of the other chateaux that we visited during our recent stay in the Loire Valley. It is much older and is still in very good condition. We were two of possibly eight people visiting while we were there in mid-May. We stopped here after visiting three other chateau that day and were pleased with it. It is not opulent, nor is it fully furnished, but there is an exhibit of medieval building techniques and tools which is interesting. The ladies in the gift shop were very friendly and helpful as well. It is a little off of the beaten path, but it was right on the road back to our hotel in Amboise - perhaps 20 minutes away from there.

We enjoyed our scenic drive to Chateau Fougeres-sur-Bievre. This was one of our favorite chateau - well-restored, medieval fortifications, models demonstrating building techniques and NO crowds. We were there early July and shared the chateau with only one other family. Fascinating exhibits covered such topics as building an arch, tiling a roof and half-timbered construction. Explanations were only in French, but the exhibits were understandable. Great information in the English language pamphlet.