🎄 Passer Noël au château d'Azay-le-Rideau 🏰

Hello everyone, welcome for a new visit on the social networks of the Centre des Monuments Nationaux Today we are in Azèles-Rideau to discover its castle, one of the masterpieces of our heritage You can admire its majestic silhouette, its famous water mirror and behind me an exceptional park You may have noticed, we are obviously in winter and we are going to talk about Christmas because there is a big activity that will take place in December at the Château d'Azèles-Rideau Without further ado, we are going to join the communication manager of the castle, Catherine who will be able to tell us about this incredible castle and the activities that will be offered and this specific visit that will be offered to you during Christmas Hello Catherine Hello Baptiste How are you? Very well, thank you Thank you for having us Obviously, do not hesitate to give us your emotions in the comments and in relation to this visit, if you have already come or if it tempts you to come Obviously, I hope it will tempt you Catherine, we are here for Christmas but we will perhaps introduce the Château d'Azèles-Rideau Where are we already? So, the Château d'Azèles-Rideau is located in the heart of the Valley of the Loire We are in Touraine, in the Centre-Val de Loire region Touraine is an hour and a half from Paris by TGV, two hours from Nantes, two hours from Bordeaux by car So very easily accessible So the Château d'Azèles-Rideau has a small half-hour ride on the road between Tours and Chinon And then with a very pretty city next door where you can spend a little time if you visit Exactly, the castle is built in the village of Azèles-Rideau Perfect, very good, thank you for this first introduction Second introduction that I know also fascinates all the people who watch us and our community When was this castle built? So the castle dates from the Renaissance, we can see it, the architecture really shows it It was built at the beginning of the 16th century by Gilles Berthelot, who was the financier of François I Ok, and did Gilles Berthelot have a happy end to his financial life? It's always complicated Unfortunately, Gilles Berthelot did not live in his castle, he did not even know it was finished Because he had some trouble with François I, he fell into disgrace and had to flee And unfortunately could not enjoy his finished castle We have some beautiful examples of unfortunate characters who built masterpieces and then never enjoyed them I think of Jacques Coeur for example in Bourges too Very good, so it's a beautiful story So this Renaissance obviously, did the castle then, since its owner did not really know it Known an abandonment or a renaissance at some point? So the castle had different phases in its history In the 16th century it was finished The 17th, the 18th, there were different owners who did the work And who, especially in the 17th century, the Commons were built, the Court of Honour And then especially what really marks the history of the castle It is the 19th century too, with a family that really marked the monument The family of the Marquis de Biancourt, who really transformed this castle And then who also created these miroirs, which we see right there Since the castle is built on an island in India, India crosses the park And the Marquis de Biancourt wanted to create these miroirs There are two in the castle of Hazel Rideau, including the one that is the largest And it is therefore a contemporary construction, it is not natural Okay, it's not like the Renaissance, but in any case it's a very good choice I think that those who know the castle or those who do not know In any case, you really have to take the time to walk around the park To appreciate the miroir, the reflection of the castle Obviously it's pretty incredible, we take photographs that stay in memory Whether they are real or in memories And speaking of this 19th century, is it inside the castle? Often we see pictures of castles from the outside, so it makes you want to come But we ask ourselves the question, especially when we are in the family with small children Is the castle furnished? Did this 19th century leave traces in this castle? Yes completely, so the interest of coming to visit the castle of Hazel Rideau Is that the castle presents three periods of history and architecture in addition And when we visit the castle, inside we have three centuries of furniture At the ground floor, it is the 19th century that has been restored And in particular all the original decor of the Marquis de Viancourt Which were restored four years ago in partnership with the National Furniture So that we will discover when we visit the interiors Stay with us, we will see it all Exactly, and on the first floor we have the Renaissance apartments With rooms such as they existed in the Renaissance And then also the 17th and 18th centuries which are presented in other rooms Very well, so there you see Camille who shows you the beautiful architecture of the castle This silhouette that we discover by entering through this beautiful alley And we discover this really majestic castle Absolutely, and especially these facades which are typical of the Renaissance With the order of the facades, the windows And then especially this majestic staircase which is really one of the strong points of the castle That we discover, as you said Baptiste, by arriving through the great alley with this great axis So this staircase which is an Alogia staircase Which is inspired by Italian staircases Exactly, since at the beginning of the Renaissance François I went to Italy for various conquests And he brought back architectural inspirations Which were inspired by the architects, especially in Turin And especially here at the Castel d'Azèl-Rideau with this magnificent staircase, Alogia So the particularity of this staircase is that it is beautifully sculpted and decorated And then it is also one of the first straight staircases That is to say that it is not a collimation as it was until now With the stairs that were positioned in the towers Here we have a staircase that is in the body of the house So it seems quite common today, but it was really very innovative at the time And then it must be specified, for those who follow us, That in Italy this fashion of the Renaissance, architectural, painting, etc. Arrives before or rather at the end of the 15th century And of course it is François I, thanks to his love of Italy And then the fact of having brought some artists, sculptors, etc. Imports it to France a little later, at the beginning of the 16th century So a little question when we see this façade It's a little game for people who come Obviously as soon as we come to a castle or a monument in connection with François I We ask where are the salamanders? And there we see a very beautiful one right at the entrance We see one right above the door We even see a second one just under the last window So two very beautiful sculpted salamanders And right next to it we have a second sculpted animal So I don't know if you know what this animal is I might be wrong, Hermine It's Hermine, that's exactly it It's the emblem of Claude de France Who was the wife of François I Perfect Queen Claude Queen Claude, who gave her name to a very good prune That's it, exactly We also know her for that, it's always a little anecdote We know the terms and we don't know that it comes from a queen of France Let's move on because we will be able to discover When we live this discovery of the castle What I find incredible I may not be the most objective in the world But it's really a discovery The façade, the water mirror, the park And then when you go inside You talk about these different architectural features And then you look up at this staircase Yes, you really have to pay attention And take the time to go up quietly Don't rush to the floors Take the time to look Because the staircase is really very interesting From a point of view of these sets Ardoise boxes above the first part Here we have medallions with the B The B of Gilles Berthelot Who was the founder of this castle And then when we continue We have different succession of boxes Again, Ardoise boxes here And a little bit higher Sculpted plant decorations And this ramp, I have a question about this ramp Which is incredible Which is sculpted in stone Exactly, the ramp is sculpted directly in stone Which reinforces even more The character of this staircase The perspective Exactly It's really very ingenious Something quite... And always very innovative So really take the time to look up There are really details It's really beautiful We see details on each box And then the boxes present medallions Of kings and queens of France A little bit higher We will play with who is who And we keep you too Because we have a little quiz for you At some point in a room So stay with us And we will play our little quiz Of who is who in the history of France Which is never simple So the tour begins in the vaults That's why we start We go up to the third level To the first vaults of the castle Where we will discover The original frame of the castle And so this tour is special Because we said it We are in December, we are at Christmas We can see it here By this magnificent view On the park You can see the colours Maybe many of you Who are watching us today Know the Châteaux de la Loire In spring, we come a lot in spring To visit the Châteaux de la Loire But in this period There is a little less people So it's very nice And splendid colours We see this superb view On the colours of autumn, winter And then on the village of Azelaïdo Exactly, despite the season And despite the cold Especially today Take the time to walk in the park To stroll And then to admire Despite all the trees And the beautiful arboretum Of the castle Which was also designed In the 19th century By the Marquis of Biancourt It's a landscape building park A landscaped park The occasion to remind That many monuments Especially the monuments Which are national monuments Are visited in summer But also in winter We have less opportunity To come in low season In winter But there are magnificent colours I think for example The Château de Coucy Which is discovered In autumn for example Or the Abbey of La Sauve-Majeure And many others So don't hesitate to come To see heritage during winter And in addition to Azelaïdo We welcome something specific for Christmas Which is called Christmas in the land of castles Can you tell us a word Before we really discover What it is in the rooms So Christmas in the land of castles It's a big operation Which is carried out By the department of the Touraine Which brings together Seven castles So Tourangeau So in particular The castle of Chenonceau Amboise Villandry Or the castle of Langevre The main castles of Touraine And we all propose A special atmosphere for Christmas With special decorations The interest of this event Is that we all developed A scenography On a particular theme So when the visitors Visit a castle A second castle A third castle They don't see the same thing They don't see the same castle Already In addition Each castle Has its own particular theme H.A. Zell-Rideau Our theme is Gourmandise And the arts of the table So a theme Really You're going to give us hunger We already know And we want to go see But we'll be able to start To go up And discover So this tour Begins in the combs Small question About the event Around So it's a city tour So the visitors Who come here today And until January 2 Can discover This tour Revisited In this Christmas atmosphere With this theme Of gastronomy And are there Events Visits Planned specifically Especially for Christmas holidays Maybe Yes So during the Christmas holidays For the family There are gourmand visits So these visits Are of course The visit to the castle The visit of the scenography For Christmas But in addition The mediators Punctuate their visits By the The tasting Of some gourmandise Because we give the visitors A little bit of