Château d'Ainay-le-Vieil, Ainay-le-Vieil, France

Built in 1300, Château d’Ainay-le-Vieil is surrounded by a moat of running water. Jacques Coeur bought the château in 1435 and Charles de Bigny (ancestor of the current owners) acquired in 1467. He built the main building in the late Gothic with Italian style.

In the large living room, a fireplace, one of the most beautiful fireplaces of the Loire Valley, remains of the visit of King Louis XII and Queen Anne of Brittany. For the chapel and its unique wall paintings, Charles appealed to Bigny workshop working on the cathedral of Bourges.

Memories of the Grand Colbert, minister of Louis XIV and Colbert’s all three brothers Napoleon's generals, are also presented.

In the park is a delightful and sweet-smelling rose garden. Some of the varieties of roses which are grown here date back to the 15th century.

References:

Eyewitness Travel Guide: Loire Valley. 2007
Château d’Ainay-le-Vieil

User Reviews

Vincent Keat (12 months ago)
An interesting castle but a bit off putting during the guided tour. The entire party kept getting locked in because the guide kept locking the doors. This wasn’t helped by him telling us to move forward and then waiting at each door. Once might be just a bit careless but this happened 5 or 6 times and was getting embarrassing.

Lars Erickson (2 years ago)
We stayed at Chateau D’Ainay-le-Vieil while traveling through France and loved it! It was the most amazing place to stay and with only 5 rooms you are guaranteed peace and quiet. The rooms were elegant and clean with lovely bathrooms. The chateau was lovely and we enjoyed relaxing in the drawing room but the gardens were the highlight. They were beautiful and the fact we had them to ourselves made it even nicer.

Robert McElhone (2 years ago)
Excellent. Stayed just the one night and wish it was longer. Alex got our bags into the golf buggy and took us to our sensational and large room with modern ensuite. Great dinner in the restaurant and picnic breakfast delivered to our door. Wonderful grounds to walk around. Very relaxing and highly recommend.

Mia Mai (2 years ago)
We stay in this castle’s room for one night. Alex and his wife were really nice and helpful. We enjoy the garden, the silent castle during night, and the beautiful castle. We are so excited to stay here and we love this experience.

Erwin T (2 years ago)
Really a nice castle, the guide did the tour with lots of passion. Tip: please improve/expand the English version of the tour. An audio goude would also be great. Extra points: for the charge station. Free charging ❤️ The lovely restaurant: food and service are very good!

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Photo from Flickr, copyright Andy Hay

Historic Site of the week

Argos Theater

The ancient Argos Theater was built in 320 BC. and is located in Argos, Greece against Larissa Hill. Nearby from this site is Agora, Roman Odeon, and the Baths of Argos. The theater is one of the largest architectural developments in Greece and was renovated in ca 120 AD.

The Hellenistic theater at Argos is cut into the hillside of the Larisa, with 90 steps up a steep incline, forming a narrow rectilinear cavea. Among the largest theaters in Greece, it held about 20,000 spectators and is divided by two landings into three horizontal sections. Staircases further divide the cavea into four cunei, corresponding to the tribes of Argos A high wall was erected to prevent unauthorized access into the theatron and may have helped the acoustics, but it is said the sound quality is still very good today.

Around 120 CE, both theaters were renovated in the Roman style.

Château d'Ainay-le-Vieil

Address

Details

More Information

Rating

Interesting Sites Nearby

User Reviews

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Finest Norman castles in Italy

Exploring the History of Northern Poland

Discovering Slovenia's Historic Wonders

Historic Site of the week

Argos Theater