EN ROUTE TO CHAMBORD!

The Château de Meung-sur-Loire was built in the early 13th century and transformed or extended over those to follow. Its venerable old age earns it the title of the oldest, and also the largest of the Châteaux of Loiret. Up to the French Revolution, it was the prestigious residence of the Orléans bishops, who, as you will see, had rather good taste. And that's just the first good reason to add this visit to your holiday agenda.

For how many castles do you know that offer you an insight into 2,000 objects, some extremely rare, that were present in the everyday lives of those who resided there from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance, presented in their original locations? Castles where an amusing riddle awaits you in almost every room you visit? Where your kids can set off on a treasure hunt to identify the many anachronistic little objects that Walter the robot has scattered here and there? Or even an 'odorama' trail to plunge your nostrils into the atmosphere of those bygone times? Well, let me tell you that any such castle is a rarity and that this particular visit is both recreational and educational and a genuine pleasure for the senses.

Fore here in Meung-sur-Loire, you won't experience one of those formal dusty old tours dotted with - please don't touch – here, there and everywhere, but a delve into living history where, all year round, new tales are told and History rimes with fun. Just imagine your kids' faces when, for the first time ever, they can don a medieval helmet and gauntlet, touch a coat of mail, learn to fire an arrow with a master of archery, just like a real knight! And the chill that runs down their spines as they delve into the daunting underground dungeons from which François Villon was lucky enough to escape.

'Our ambition was to create an eccentric daily tour offering a less formal approach to culture as a source of pleasure.'

Xavier Lelevé, owner of the Château de Meung-sur-Loire