A Good Reason to Visit in the Low Season

A lot of important conservation work at chateaux takes place between the end of September and the beginning of April. Far from spoiling your visit, this can often enhance it. You can see close up the detailed work of repairing and maintaining these priceless buildings and their contents. Sometimes the conservator is even happy to talk about his or her work and can provide fascinating behind the scenes facts about how a decorative element was made or the particular problems of caring for certain objects.

Refreshing the 17th century painted panels at Cheverny.

October and March are ideal times to visit if you are interested in how the chateaux are cared for. Visitor numbers are low, but the weather is often mild - just the sort of time delicate conservation work will be scheduled. After all you can't do precision work with frozen hands, and many old fashioned materials cannot be used when it is too cold.

If you are interested in the behind the scenes management of historic monuments email us and ask about tours in the spring or autumn. We can't guarantee you will get to talk to a conservator, but we will do our best to give you an idea of what goes in to the care of the wonderful Loire chateaux.