Three châteaux most will never see

Just west of Blois, between Amboise on the left bank of the Loire and Vouvray on the right bank, there are at least three châteaux that are not at all well known. I remember finding them almost by accident years ago.

The château above is in the village called Pocé-sur-Cisse just a short drive north of Amboise. We stayed in a gîte in Pocé in December 2002 when we were looking at houses with an eye to buying one. The Cisse is a small river that flows parallel to the Loire from north of Blois on west to Vouvray. We thought we might find a house we liked and could afford in Amboise or nearby. The château in Pocé eluded us on that trip, I believe. We sound it a few years later. At some point in its history, in the 18th or 19th century, the Château de Pocé-sur-Cisse was abandoned. The building was turned into a foundry by a local industrialist. When the château later reverted to government ownership, iron and steel statues of winged lions fabricated in the foundry were placed around the property as decorations.

A short distance west and north of Pocé the Brenne river flows north to south on th eastern edge of the wine village called Vouvray. Two châteaux stand in the Brenne river valley. Both were built starting at the end of the 15th century, but in different styles. One, the Château de de la Côte (above left) is just barely a château; it's smaller so is sometimes described as a manor (un manoir in French). It looks pretty elegant and is privately owned. The other, the Château de Jallanges was built mostly of brick. These days it is operated as a hotel catering to tourists who want to see the better-known Loire Valley châteaux nearby.