Château de la Bourdaisière

Montlouis-sur-Loire, France

Château de la Bourdaisière origins date back to the 14th century when it was a fortress belonging to Jean Meingre. Over the next few generations, the property changed hands several time, until 1520 when King Francis I arranged for construction of a new castle on the site. Built for his mistress, Marie Gaudin, the wife of Philibert Babou, Superintendent of Finances for France, after her death, the property would remain in the family's hands. Marie Gaudin's granddaughter, Gabrielle d'Estrées, was born in the château and would herself grow up to become mistress to another king, Henry IV of France.

In 1775, the château was partially destroyed by order of King Louis XV's most powerful Minister, Étienne François, Duc de Choiseul. Étienne François wanted to use the stones from Château de la Bourdaisière for the construction of his Pagoda at his estate in Chanteloup, near Amboise.

Lying in ruins, in 1786 the land was sold to Louise Adélaïde of Penthièvre Bourbon. In 1802 the property was acquired by Baron Joseph Angelier who undertook a massive reconstruction of Château Bourdaisière. The interior work would be completed by his son, Gustave Angelier. Although a small château, when compared to the great châteaux of the Kings and some of those built by other wealthy nobles, it is a magnificent Renaissance construction fronted by traditional French gardens.

During World War II, the château was occupied by the Nazis. After the war, a lack of funds by its owner saw it become severely run down. In 1959, its contents were auctioned off and government turned the château into a home for the elderly.

In 2003, Château de la Bourdaisière gained considerable attention in North America, as the primary site for the television show Joe Millionaire. In 2011, the chateaus gardens were finalist for the European Garden Award bestowed by the European Garden Heritage Network. The château was listed as a monument historique in 1947. Today it functions as a hotel.

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Details

Founded: 1520
Category: Castles and fortifications in France

Rating

4.2/5 (based on Google user reviews)

User Reviews

Daniel Zheng (2 years ago)
This is the best chateau I have ever stayed at France so far. The staffs there are super welcoming and friendly. They bring us a heater before we even noticed. They showed us the chateau and it’s history upon our arrival. I honestly expect every single chateau hotel should have staffs give an introduction of the place, because the primary reason to book a chateau instead of a normal hotel is the interest to learn its history. Besides the staff, this chateau has a good collection of arts. They are made in 1600-1800 AC if I am not mistaken.
Vianney (2 years ago)
Attended the wedding of a dear friend and this must be one of the most idyllic places I've spent time in. The service is perfect, the scenery to die for, the exposed-beams rooms are clean and spacious - a tad hot in summer but it's hard to escape it these days. I'd book there if I married my girlfriend.
Charles McCall (2 years ago)
What a fantastic stay! The hotel oozes charm from all its pores - It is incredibly beautiful and has lots of character. The superior rooms are really spectacular, and even the more basic rooms are really beautiful. We stayed here with a large group and they only had fantastic things to say about this beautiful hotel
Bob Morris (2 years ago)
It was a wonderful chateau to stay as long as you book the rooms in the chateau. They have an elevator in the chateau. The pavilion rooms you need the climb an equivalent of second floors of stairs. The rooms are not decorated as nicely to say to least. Since my wife has a disability for walking up stairs this made a problem for her enjoying the stay. The second night I paid for upgrading the room to stay in the chateau itself. The room was beautiful and comfortable and we had the elevator to use. We had a nice dinner at their restaurant in the garden area outside. It was very pleasant and the food was good, too! All and all it was a good experience and the staff was helpful in making the upgraded room work us. The pool was too far of a walk for my wife to do. So we didn't do it. Plenty of parking and a beautiful place. Their gardens were nice with labels of the types of plants there. Enjoy a night or two stay!
kampayod (2 years ago)
Not so bad if you want to spend a night or two here in a chateauesque setting and feel the vibes. The renovated bedroom we stay in doesn't carry that vibes though and is very basic at best. The staff are all very nice and courteous. The paid breakfast could certainly have more options. The real highlight of this place is the huge grounds covering large forest, garden, and farm for an enjoyable walk or biking.
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