The drop-off point is a magnificent guest house, with an evocative name,
Château de Paradis
, set in the middle of a forest, about 4 km from Amboise.
This former residence of the Duke of Choiseul, whose study, woodwork and painted ceilings, is listed as a historical monument, has been bought by heritage lovers.
We owe them a particularly successful restoration work, resulting in the faithful restitution of a country house in the 18th century.
Wild silk, signed furniture, rare rugs, portraits of ancestors… It feels like a museum from the Grand Siècle.
In the evening, the reception rooms, accessible to guests, are subtly lit with an infinite softness enhanced by the use of a profusion of candles.
In this
Barry Lyndon
decor
, the masters of the house have opened five guest rooms furnished in perfect taste.
Breakfast is served in an 18th century porcelain from the Marie-Antoinette factory (rooms at € 230, breakfast included).
The Château de Paradis lends bicycles to explore the surroundings with one pedal stroke, such as
Amboise
, right next door, where Charlene and Elsa are waiting for us.
These two botany enthusiasts offer to explore wild edible plants during a tasting walk on the banks of the Loire, such as nettle, hogweed, yarrow ... After the picking comes the gourmet break with gougères on the menu with nettles, wild pesto or soft ground ivy chocolate… All washed down with a kir in plant syrup.
So many recipes to reproduce at home with its pick of the day (kalika-loire.com, 1 hour 30 minutes from € 30).
Flowers for Chenonceau
Chenonceau is the only castle in the world to have its own florist employees.
At the head of the workshop, Jean-François Boucher, Meilleur Ouvrier de France.
Dominique couineau
Still in Amboise, foray into the winter garden of
Château-Gaillard
, one of the most unknown castles of the Loire, recently opened to visitors and which has made citrus fruit a specialty.
For good reason, the mansion was offered by François Ier to Dom Pacello, the Renaissance gardener who participated in the introduction in France of the first orange trees.
The park has a collection of two hundred citrus fruits, from seventy varieties, part of which is sheltered in the orangery, one of the first to be built in France.
The new owner of Château-Gaillard, who has been working on the site's restoration since 2011, shows what a walled garden could be like, including the beautiful front door.
You can see a thousand things like flowerbeds bordered with holly, the flower of winter (chateau-gaillard-amboise.fr, entry: € 13, reduced price: € 11).
Last stop of our weekend with a visit to
Chenonceau
through floral art.
From the flower garden to the workshop where the hundreds of bouquets that adorn the rooms of the castle are made, all year round, this walk was imagined by Jean-François Boucher, florist, Meilleur Ouvrier de France, who introduces visitors floral scenography (chenonceau.com, from € 80 to € 120 per person + entrance fee).
Château de Paradis, 3 Paradis, 37150 La Croix-en-Touraine.
Phone.
: 06 62 82 26 51.
The Château de Paradis is located in the town of La-Croix-en-Touraine.
Infographic Le Figaro
Go
By train, from Austerlitz station (1 h 50), by car (2 h 30 by the A10).
