The Chateau de Cheverny is an enormous symmetrical structure made of stone from Bourre, which is white and gets harder as it ages. The gleaming facade is done in the classical style of Louis XIII, and still looks as it did when it was built in the early 1600s.
The chateau has been in the same family for more than 600 years. The Huraults still live and hunt there, with nearly 100 hunting dogs kept ready for the next outing. Visitors can watch the dogs' evening feeding at 5 p.m. from April through Sept. 15.
The castle architect was Jacques Bougier, a famous master mason and sculptor as well as architect, who had also worked on part of the Chateau du Blois a few miles away. He died before the chateau at Cheverny was finished, however. The source of its main staircase is unknown, as the only information left about it are the initials "FL" and the date 1634, left on the ground floor.
The designer of the lavish interior was Jean Monier, a protegee of Marie de Medicis. He started working on the Chateau de Cheverny after he returned from Paris, where he worked for Marie de Medicis at the Luxembourg Palace. Some of the decor of the Chateau includes gilded and elaborate carved woodwork, an unrestored Gobelin tapestry, furniture from the eras of Louis XIV and XV, and painted wall panels that show the story of Don Quixote.
Before the current structure was built there was a fortified castle on the land, still within the Hurault family. An artist passing through the area centuries ago made a drawing of the old building, but didn't include any landmarks, so it is unknown if parts of the original structure are still intact as outbuildings, or if the old castle stood exactly where the 17th-century one was built--resulting in the demolition of the original.
You can rent out the castle's grand dining room for events for a maximum of 25 people. Rooms also can be rented in outbuildings, including the Orangery, the hunting room featuring a giant fireplace and the Friends of Tintin room.
Herge, the Belgian comic book writer, used the Chateau de Cheverny as his inspiration for Marlinspike Hall, the grand country residence in the Tintin comics.
