chateau de Bouges

Bouges

Bouges

Loire Valley

Loire Valley castles - Bouges

When visiting Chateau de Valençay it is worth making the trip (10km) to nearby,small but perfectly formed, chateau de Bouges an elegant castle set in landscaped grounds. Your approach is via a 2km avenue lined by lime and chestnut trees.

Built in 1759, the symmetrical building, is said to have been modelled on the

Petit Trianon in Versailles. Unlike a lot of the Loire Valley chateau this little beauty is well furnished and has actually got a lived in feel to it, even though it is not in fact occupied. Not all of the rooms are open to the public but there are enough to give you a feel for how it must have been at its glorious best.

It was once owned by

Talleyrand before he moved to the grandeur of Chateau de Valençay. He in turn gifted it to his niece who

became Duchess of Dino. It then changed hands a number of times before its last owner, Henry Viguier ,

a Parisian businessman,

bought it in 1917. He and his wife

Renée

lived in and lavished attention on the house. They undertook its modernization, reviving the castle by adding wood panelling and

tastefully redecorated and refurnishing the chateau

with antique furniture.