Cheverny Travel Guide

 von.otter Says:  “The interior of Cheverny leaves nothing to be desired. It is elegant, aristocratic, and yet most delightfully homelike, with its spacious hall, richly decorated royal bedroom, and salon as livable as an English drawing room, with books, magazines and writing materials... 

 hquittner Says:  There are still working farm buildings at Cheverny as well as extensive stables. At one time it was possible to arrange for cart and driver to ride over the acreage. The buildings are all decorated with sets of antlers 

 hquittner Says:  The north side of the chateau differs slightly from the south side in that the lateral wings project one bay beyond the body of the building and there is an extension of the entry of three bays before the descent into the grounds. There is a nice walk out to the Orangerie... 

 hquittner Says:  Not only are there important rooms with tapestries on the ground floor but on the first floor a splendid library with over 2,000 old volumes. The important Flemish tapestries below are from cartoons by David Teniers. 

 hquittner Says:  The less important rooms on the main floor are visited as well as the major rooms. There is a small dining with fine furniture and and a small sitting room as well as sleeping rooms some with canopied beds and fine 17 and 18C furniture everywhere. In one room is fine... 

 hquittner Says:  On the ground floor is a set of important paintings relating to the chateau. They are are displayed in the Grand Salon which is done in the Louis XIV style. Tge paintibg over the mantel is if Marue Johanne de la Carre Saumery. To her right is Jeanne d'Aragon and to her lft... 

 hquittner Says:  The king's room was ready at all times for the visit of a member of the royalty. It was decorated with a painted ceiling and walls extensively using blue and white coloring. It had a coffered ceiling with many scenes on the walls and ceiling about Perseus plus a set of... 

 hquittner Says:  The Salle de Garde (or Armory) is the largest room in the house and occupies one whole section lateral to the stairs. Above the mantel is a painting by Mosnier of The Death of Adonis which is decorated by statues of Mercury and Venus at each side of the painting. Other... 

 hquittner Says:  All of the walls of the dining room and of the outside walls as well, are paneled and decorated with episodes from the two books about the Adventures of Don Quixote done by J.Mosnier, which had just been translated. 

 hquittner Says:  The central part of the chateau is devoted to a set of two levels of stairs leading to the main floor and further up to the dormer level. It is carved with garlands, has vaulted ends, many cherubs and decorated figures. 

 hquittner Says:  The dining room still maintains its beamed ceiling but was remodeled in the 19C. However it still has its panelling which still contains the numerous paintings by J. Mosnier illustrating the Adventures of Don Quixote. These paintings were done shortly after the story was... 

 hquittner Says:  The appearance of Cheverny is essentially linear. but its lateral square three story section extends slightly at the rear view giving the suggestion of a cour d'honneur. The three center sections are only two stories high but of different design. The facade is simple but is... 

 von.otter Says:  “Although Cheverny cherishes its Bourbon traditions, like the proverbially happy nation and happy woman it has no history to speak of, having even escaped the rigors of the French Revolution. In the past, as today, this château seems to have been a homelike and peaceful... 

 von.otter Says:  “During the brief sojourn of Henry at Blois, the chancellor Cheverny died, after an illness of three days, at his adjacent castle of Cheverny. His health had been for some months in a precarious condition.”— from “The History of the Reign of Henry IV King of France and... 

 von.otter Says:  “Cheverny remains to me a very charming, a partly mysterious, vision. I drove back to Blois in the dark, some nine miles; and as I moved through the evening air I thought of Francis I and Henry IV.”— from “A Little Tour In France” 1884 by Henry JamesThe Belgian comic book... 

 von.otter Says:  “Cheverny, built in 1634, is of a much later date than the other royal residences of this part of France; it belongs to the end of the Renaissance, and has a touch of the rococo.”— from “A Little Tour In France” 1884 by Henry JamesOriginally a fortified castle, the present... 

 von.otter Says:  “The Loire, cradle of French literature and cuisine. The Loire, where they spoke the purest French. He had come to know it relatively late in life. In his younger days he had avoided the area because of the picture it conjured up; all those coachloads of tourists with their...