Château d'Azay-le-Rideau Tickets

Château Azay-le-Rideau is built between two arms of the river Indre on an islet. This construction gives an exceptional charm to the castle with rich flora and fauna. The construction of the garden is done by the son of Charles de Biencourt, a botanist in the year 1824, when Charles bought the château in the year 1791, he aimed to transform the garden into a landscaped park in the so-called “English-style” gardens, which have irregular layouts and reflects a natural and uncontrolled conception of nature. The topography of the Azay site and the abundant presence of water lend themselves perfectly to the beautiful sight.

The Azay-le-Rideau Château is highly rich with a sculpted interior, which reflects the decoration of the Italian Renaissance. The historical living room is one of them which is a veritable private museum, open to visitors since the middle of the century. The Biencourt lounge was refurbished to evoke the environment and the taste of the royal family. Presently furniture in Château is from the 19th century and is known from the inventory of Armand-François-Marie de Biencourt.

The de Biencourt family had an exceptional collection of historical portraits. The portraits ranged from the 17th and 18th centuries and were rich in more than 300 works. They offer a rich lesson in history admired from the middle of the 19th century. Today, about fifty pieces are presented at the Condé de Chantilly Museum.

The North façade is one of the architectural masterpieces and sculptures of the first French reappearance. It represents the transition of arts that took place in the 16th century and unify French and Italian ornamental traditions. This is the first architecture you see when arriving at the castle.

The view from the water mirror is the best-known thing from the Château d'Azay. From the south façade, the castle unveils the silhouette desired by Gilles Berthelot: both a modern residence, with its large bays and high skylights and imposing, with its battlements, reminiscent of the walkways of mediaeval fortresses. In the 19th century, a corbelled tower was of the additions by Biencourts which now represents the beautiful stylistic unity of the work.  

The renaissance is the room of Philippe Lesbahy, she was the wife of Gilles Berthelot. The room was reinstituted according to arrangements known in France during the Renaissance. The reconstitution is based on an important work based on archival and iconographic studies for the restitution of the textiles of the bed and helped to rediscover the know-how of weaving the rush, with mats covering the walls.