Experience Christmas Magic At These 7 Enchanting Loire Valley Castles

However much we love our Christmas markets or the holiday lights of Paris, there’s as much to be said for grand dining room tables heaving with Christmas fare, and decorations that shimmer when the air is wintery and crisp.

As night falls early in this season, lights are quick to twinkle against the blue hour, bringing the castles to magical life.

If you want to spend  you’ll be heading to Each year, a number of castles (seven at present) in the Touraine band together under the umbrella of “Christmas in the Land of Castles”, or Noël au pays des châteaux, as it’s called.

The Touraine, by the way, is the traditional name of the area now covered mostly by the Indre-et-Loire département.

I'm just back, and here’s what's on offer for the 2024-5 Christmas season!

1. Château d’Azay-le-Rideau

Azay-le-Rideau has a distinction that will forever stick in your memory once you’ve seen it: it is built over the water.

This classic view of Azay-le-Rideau is memorable and doesn’t change with the seasons ©OffbeatFrance

However impressive the exterior, the interior also stands up to the toughest scrutiny, in this case − Christmas Delights, with a focus on gingerbread.

Expect intricately decorated biscuits, exquisite gingerbread houses, and gingerbread tree ornaments. Of course you’ll also get your fill of lavish banquet tables, not to mention creative plant arrangements.

You’ll feel like you’re right back in childhood, and I admit I was sorely tempted to reach out, for just a little taste… but I grasped my phone tightly and took these photos instead.

Gingerbread takes center stage at Christmas at Azay-le-Rideau ©OffbeatFrance

2. Château de Villandry

You may be familiar with Villandry, its stunning Renaissance gardens a thing of beauty, painstakingly restored in the early 20th century by Dr. Joachim Carvallo and his wife, Ann Coleman, who purchased the neglected estate in 1906 and dedicated their lives to it.

In season, this is why most people visit.

This is the Villandry most people know…

Come Christmas, though, all the action moves indoors.

So it should come as no surprise that Villandry banks on nature for its celebrations, with this year's theme being “At Christmas, nature invites itself to the château.”

Rooms are taken over by an eclectic collection of plant-based decorations, with special displays that include reindeer, fawns, owls, squirrels, and foxes. Head upstairs and you’ll find an incredible enchanted forest and winter wonderland, which will delight the little ones you might bring along.

3. Château de Chenonceau

Chenonceau, the famous “Château of the Ladies,” is one of the Loire Valley’s most beloved castles, whatever the season.

It’s known for its amazing floral arrangements year-round, but it doubles down for the winter holidays. 

When I visited, the château had partnered with the distinguished Maison Bernardaud, a French porcelain manufacturer established in 1863 in Limoges. The theme? “Chenonceau, a porcelain Christmas”, with porcelain items woven into the Christmas decor, an unexpected blend of French savoir-vivre and holiday spirit.

The château’s famous grand gallery is filled with an enormous banquet table that pays homage to Catherine de Medici’s love of birds, with porcelain displays mixed in with nature. Throughout Chenonceau, I found incredibly original creations, some which I had to return to observe a second time.

See for yourself!

The mixing of porcelain with a range of other materials works beautifully at Chenonceau for Christmas. Just above, a tiny portion of the banquet table in the Grand Gallery ©OffbeatFrance

4. Château de Langeais

Langeais is a different kind of fairy-tale castle: it has a proper drawbridge and gate, and stepping through it, you’re also traveling back in time to the Middle Ages.

Over Christmas, Langeais, a late medieval fortress, becomes a spectacle of light.

Inside, I found candles, lanterns and garlands everywhere, and intricate lighting effects, creating a dreamlike atmosphere. This festive illumination, designed by Christopher Lacassagne of Compagnie Quart de Soupir, combines history with holiday and is lovely to see.

Christmas spirit at Château de Langeais, a combination of light and medieval beauty ©OffbeatFrance

5. Forteresse de Chinon

Chinon may be known as the place where Joan of Arc met the future Charles VII for the first time, so I wasn't surprised it chose to honor women for Christmas. Yet they weren't thinking of Joan of Arc but of another woman, Eleanor of Aquitaine, born 900 years ago.

Floral designer Géraldine Leclerc and decorative artist Véronique Chauvet made it happen, a moment in time long past, dedicated to Eleanor of Aquitaine and Marie of Anjou, Charles VII's wife. Of course the decor includes a banquet table (when does it not?) from Eleanor’s era, and a special exhibition detailing her personal items and lodgings.

In a more contemporary vein, a photo exhibition in the Clock Tower showcases modern women reclaiming their power through art.

A banquet as it would have been served in Eleanor of Aquitaine’s time, with the bird dressed at the center of the dish and the typical eight-sided crown ©OffbeatFrance

This room would have once been a chapel - here, it was re-created ©OffbeatFrance

Birds are skilfully intertwined in these floral arrangements ©OffbeatFrance

6. Cité Royale de Loches

Loches has played many roles in France’s history, but is possibly better known as the château that housed the gorgeous and trendy Agnès Sorel, mistress to King Charles VII (he who owed his crown to Joan of Arc). She is known as the first mistress, since she is the first woman at court to be recognized as such.

But that’s a story for another time.

Each year, Loches celebrates Christmas by portraying a famous fairy-tale, in this case, the Brothers Grimm tale of Hansel and Gretel, with hints of the story scattered throughout the castle.

Various scenes portray the story of Hansel and Gretel at the Cité Royale de Loches. Here, there is a hint of the children’s father, a woodcutter, who bemoaned the family’s poverty and led to their children’s abandonment deep in the forest ©OffbeatFrance

7. Château d’Amboise

Amboise was the one castle out of seven that I was sadly unable to visit on my Christmas swing but I have been here before and have a particular fondness for it.

This Christmas, the theme was “Kingdom of Toys,” superimposing toys from history with more modern ones. I understand the effect was quite whimsical, and is described as “fun journeys through time, with the spider-king Louis XI facing up to a Spiderman action figure, Leonardo da Vinci trying out a construction set and King Louis-Philippe driving an electric train.”

It sounds fun and while these exhibitions only last one season, I’ll pay homage to Amboise next time I’m in the Loire Valley by going there first.

Before you go…

These castles all have centuries of history behind them, so you’ll end up with an extraordinary visual experience when you visit.

Since the themes change each year, check the annual Christmas program that comes out in the fall on their website. You can also buy your entrance tickets or multi-castle passes, as well as packages that combine the castle pass with hotel bookings.

It's absolutely worth putting this on your agenda if you're in France in winter and are looking for something different. I spoke with the various guides and ticket sellers I met about the popularity of the Christmas events and they told me that on average, since these special Christmas themes had been launched, attendance during this time had more or less doubled.

Christmas in France with a touch of grandeur...

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Bonjour! I’m Leyla! I was born in Paris and now live in the bucolic mountain foothills of Eastern France between Lyon and Annecy. 

I'm rediscovering my own back yard after years of living abroad in Canada, Spain and Switzerland as a journalist and a diplomat － and I'm loving every minute.

Passionate about history and culture, I’ve created Offbeat France to seek out my country’s mysteries and legends, less-traveled destinations, along with plenty of food stops and many castles － I am French, after all!

Read more!

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