Monday's Loire Valley chateau - Chateau de Chaumont-sur-Loire captured on the last day of September.

 

Chaumont-sur-Loire

The theme for this years Garden Festival is announced.

This year's theme for this popular event with our guests, is 'Gardens of thought'. As annual visitors we tend to not pay too much attention to the theme ( I say we but Pauline does tend to read the descriptions) but take the gardens as we find them with a cursory glance at the descriptive blurb. We have rarely been disappointed on our visits and as they  continue to add and improve the grounds away from the festival itself it always feels 'fresh'.

Pauline at last year's festival.

A visit to the garden festival at Chaumont-sur-Loire

Some images from last weeks visit to the International Garden Festival at Chaumont-sur-Loire with friends Mike and Liz -If you haven't been, then you should give it a visit. 

A good day out...Chaumont garden festival.

In recommending things to do for our guests at our rental houses I was suggesting a visit to the 'International garden Feastival' at Chateau Chaumont-sur-Loire with a spot of wine-tasting and lunch 'en route' when I realised it was a post I hadn't done of our visit in June with friends Mike and Liz. 
It has the makings of a good day out...head up towards Amboise, skirt round it (save Amboise for another day) on the D31 then on to the D751. Continue on this road until you see the sign ‘Cave degustation visite’ turn right after sign into 'Plou et Fils' for a bit of wine tasting (consider it an apero before lunch).

Try their sparkling rose as well as others.. 

 You can ‘hike’ up to the higher ground to have a close-up view of their vines.

After you visit continue along D751 until you see the red restaurant banners of ‘Le Pied dans le plat', parking is on your left.

It is a troglodyte restaurant with good food, ambiance and service.

 After lunch continue on the D751 for another 10 minutes or so on to Chaumont-sur-Loire. As you enter you can stop and take in the views of the mighty river Loire before heading up to the chateau.

 You can park (free) down by the river and then make your way up the long climb uphill, which can be a pleasure if you are fit, or you can continue driving uphill past the entrance, in the direction of Montrichard, then take the first right, through the crossroads towards the school and you'll find the rear car park at the entrance to the 'Garden Festival'. 

You can visit the garden festival on its own for 12.50€ or buy a combined ticket for chateau and gardens for 17.00€ depending on how much time you have.Here is my record of this year's festival in pictures.

Stroll through the park towards the chateau - look out for the 'art' within the grounds- and onto its drawbridge before entering the inner courtyard.