A renaissance chateau with a fascinating 20C story.
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| Front entrance of the Chateau de Candé. |
The Chateau of Cande is not well known, even amongst the locals, but I have come to know and love it better than most. Built by the same family as the world famous Chenonceau, it is nonetheless its 19th and 20th century owners who have proved the most interesting. I will reveal the story of a forgotten Franco-Irish-Cuban family, the Drake del Castillos, who spent their time in gentlemanly scientific pursuits, politics and the arts, tastefully doubling the size of the chateau. After them came an enigmatic French-American owner, Charles Bedaux, a gadget geek who modernised the chateau with running water and telephones. His role in the Second World War is deeply ambiguous and he certainly had some very dodgy business contacts. He and his American wife Fern Lombard made the chateau available for the wedding of the newly abdicated Edward VIII to the divorced American Wallis Simpson, so there is lots of controversy surrounding that which I will talk about. Lombard is now forgotten, but in her day was regularly voted one of the top 10 most glamorous women.
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| The rare Skinner house organ in the library. |
Itinerary
*meet at the visitor centre of the Domaine de Cande.
*visit the stables briefly.
*visit the interior of the chateau, to see the very rare authentic 16C rooms, rare 19C Tours silk wall coverings, very rare working house organ and Erard player piano, graffiti by Edward and Wallis, early 20C home gym, and bathrooms from between the Wars and a collection of Wallis Simpson's clothes.
*emerge from the chateau and take a turn around the exterior, checking out the sites used for the Windsor's wedding photos, and surveying the lawn for wild orchids (in May and June).
*the tour ends back at the visitor centre, after which you may choose to take a walk in the extensive estate independently.
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| View from the terrace. |
This tour can be customised -- for example it can be extended to include lunch in a nearby workers restaurant and/or a chauffered tour where you are picked up and dropped off at your hotel in or near Tours in one of our classic Citroen cars. Just ask me what is possible. (The chauffeured tour is limited to 2 people. )
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| The grounds have some unique playground equipment, like these mechanical horses. |
Duration: 2 hours.
Original early 16C dining room ceiling.
This is a walking tour. The chateau is not accessible to wheelchair users, as there are several narrow spiral staircases.
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| The drawing room, decorated by the Drake del Castillo family. |
Price: €150 for groups of up to 4 people. Admission tickets are not included.
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| The back of the Chateau de Candé. |
Booking: email admin@tourtheloire.com at least one day before you wish to take the tour. Tours can be conducted Wednesday-Sunday, in April-June and August-October.
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| Fern Lombard Bedaux's bathroom. |
About the Guide: I am Susan Walter. I specialise in story telling, the weaving together of this fact and that, this character and their relationship with another. It is a technique which brings alive the history of what is sometimes just stones to look at, but those stones may lead to something wonderfully evocative and provide a better understanding of the past. Much of the history of the Loire Valley is about important characters which you will have heard of, but there is a great deal of hidden history too -- characters who have been forgotten in modern times, motivations for deeds which seem inexplicable can become clear, how different life was then, but also how similar. If you want to know who would graffiti a royal chapel and why, and why it isn't who most guides will tell you it is, then take a tour with me. If you want to know about the history of bathing and personal hygiene, and how that isn't quite what you think it is, then take a tour with me. If you want to meet fascinating characters from history who really made a difference, often women, then take a tour with me.
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| The back of the Chateau of Candé. |
English speaking, born and raised in Australia, I lived for 12 years in England, where I worked for the National Trust in their Historic Buildings Conservation Department, and now in the UNESCO World Heritage Listed Loire Valley for more than a decade. I am an active heritage and nature conservation professional with experience of working with conservators and curators to care for historic objects and buildings, and with ecologists caring for our natural environment. Deeply embedded in the local scene I speak quite good French and enjoy life in a small village near some fabulous chateaux and lovely countryside. I'm always happy to talk about life in France and am friends with many wine makers and local food producers.