Le château du Gué-Péan is just five or six miles north of our house. It's also on the outskirts of the village called Monthou-sur-Cher, on a dead-end road. It dates back to the middle of the 16th century — the French Renaissance — at about the time that king François Ier's reign was ending. Le Gué-Péan was always off the beaten path, and still is. It's open to the public in July and August. There are stables and horses on the grounds.
On the Gué-Péan website there is an aerial photo of the château, plus a lot of information about it (in French).
The Cadogan Loire guidebook says of le Gué-Pean that it is "a sleeping beauty of a castle, not quite cut off by impenetrable woods and brambles... a joy to look at as you arrive, the château seems somewhat dejected when you get closer..." The Cadogan guidebook was written in the 1990s, and Gué-Péan was acquired by a well-known Paris architect.
The photos above are some I took in 2003, just a couple of months after we came to live here. I'll have to drive over there this month and see how the château and grounds are looking these days. Maybe I'll go inside; I've never done that before. There is also a new winery in Monthou that I'm curious about.
Go and tell us how it looks inside. Have a taste of that wine, too.
ReplyDeleteJust what Evelyn said, is what I was thinking :)
ReplyDeleteI think you have some good reasons to go to the chateau and the winery.
ReplyDeleteBettyAnn
I really am enjoying your posts on chateaus.
ReplyDeleteThe pictures are amazing.
Linda from Alabama
: ^ )
Delete