chateau de serrant

If you are in the area you must visite le chateau de Serrant.You will be able to visit a very well furnished castle and the owners live there and try to maintain the place together.

First impressions were not massively optimistic about this Chateau - the outside needs bit of work and there are various areas which look quite dilapidated. Inside though was incredible. So much to see. Beautiful rooms and very impressive pieces. The only negative is that we couldn't take photos inside!Definitely one of the Loire gems.

A great experience.A great library with an original of 'Encyclopie.A great chapel where the aristocracy could attend Mass from their beds.

I sometimes wish i was a hawk,to catch airily the unbelievably beautiful sight of the verdant park to the left of the chateau, which stands on a large square platform,set in a broad,deep-set moat,crossed by bridges on three sides. The grand coup d'oeil of Serrant is framed by four lines of chestnuts on either sides. This is sighing territory,a wealth of beauty to be experienced.. For all the formality of the layout,this chateau has been evolving since 1481,with a unified look where the dark brown schist is contrasted with the white stone of the courtyard. To me ,and this time the femme concurred,as well....Serrant's two massive cylindrical towers remind me of those at VAlencay,carrying powerful bell domes and open cupolas. Check-out the large oval gunports at the foot of the towers. Ok,through the front doors we go and immediately, our gazes are held by the splendour of the barrel-vaulted stone staircase which leads your vision to the deep cross-pattern on the ceilings. This place masterfully hides bathrooms within cupboards and lavatories concealed in closets. Double doors are"faked" to match the staircase. The rooms upstairs impress with their enormous height and huge chimney pieces. I loved the library which boasts 16 tiers of books with a continuous rail for a ladder. The star-pattern ceiling in Italian chestnut is remarkable, as is the hand operated lift at the end of the wing built into a handsome wooden staircase. On leaving the chateau,we walked around the large English -style lake approached by balustraded steps of the garden front. There is a large circular dove-coat overlooking a pool with a stone dome and open cupola with grass sprouting romantically from the roof. We loved this chateau.

This Chateau is just down the road from my friends' place, so it was an obvious place to visit. It's not as grand as most of the more famous chateaus (ie Chambord and Chenonceau etc), but what really made it was the tour. The English speaking guide was great, and there's some really interesting history to the place. It feels much more 'lived in' than some of the others, which I thought gives the chateau an extra charm. Definitely recommended!

A lovely example of Renaissance chateau built in 15th century on the foundations of a medieval fortress. Owned by the Brie Family, it changed hands many times. Antoine Walsh, a ship owner, bought the estate in 1749, redecorated the chateau and added English gardens.Than in 1830, Valentine Walsh married the Duke de la Tremoille and since then the chateau stayed in the Tremoille Family.The chateau is notable for the library and it's 12,000 books. Also, for the collection of furniture and objects d'Art it is one of the best furnished chateaux in the Loire valley.

Wow! What a house! It was amazing to imagine that people lived in home such as this! Current family still owns and lives in part of the house. I took the tour in French, but was able to understand what was being said by following along in the translated English brochure. so worth visiting. just exquisite!

A very good example of a French Chateau and well worth a visit, but check the opening times, we had differing information. The guided tour was in French but the English booklet provided made it easy to follow.

A very good guided tour, this chataeu is as good inside as it is outside , it has one of the most wonderful libaries I have ever seen.I would highly recommend a visit.

When we visited there was only an option of the guided tour in French so we decided to pay 12 euros for 2 of us to access the grounds. In retrospect we should have paid for the tour, even if we couldn't understand it because by all accounts it's the interior of this chateau which makes it beautiful. The exterior is not the best Chateau in the area, and the ground are very poorly kept, so not the sort you can wander around and enjoy.There are far more beautiful Chateaux in this area, so I'd only recommend this one if you're desparate to fill an hour or two in the Loire Valley.

The chateau itself is as you would imagine a french chateau to be. Grand, imposing, beautiful. It is still to the greatest extent intact and managed by the family and it breathes history. Napoleon visited amongst many other great names up until the present day. The grounds with lake and moat, the kitchens which would have fed so many staff and members of the household, the family library, bedrooms with some of the most advanced bathrooms of their age...A gem.

This chateau wasn't particulalry interesting until we came into the stunning library, which was worth the visit in itself.

We really enjoyed visiting Serrant. It was surprisingly not busy compared to other chateau. Maybe 10 other cars in the parking lot. You have to tour the inside of the chateau with a guided tour - no wandering around on your own and no photographs inside. The furnishings, tapestries and library were outstanding. It was very quiet at the back away from the road. Very peaceful in the park by the pond with great reflections of the chateau, clouds and trees in the pond. We ate our picnic lunch there and fell in love with it.

Pros: Large impressive castle set in a pleasant park.Cons : would have liked to see more rooms inside and been able to take photos

Un château absolument superbe ! Un mobilier riche et diversifié qui vaut vraiment le détour. A voir !