There are hundreds of amazing chateau all over France. More and more are privately owned these days, because the maintenance costs are phenomenal and they have become expensive for the states to run. Very few chauteau still reside the original descendents. Not all modern day aristocrats are filthy rich and have millions in their bank accounts. Some struggle to make ends meet every month, have a blue collar job, pay mortgages, pay monthly car payments, and live a very humble life like everyone else. Due to the astronomical amount of inheritance tax suddenly bestowed upon them, many are left with no choice but to sell their family possession immediately after having inherited it. We personally met a few of them and it truly broke our hearts to see they had to part with their family possessions which have been in their family for hundreds of years.
Dozens of small privately owned chateau are only within 15 to 30 minutes from my house. The more famous ones are only an hour away. When we have time to take a short trip to the Loire Valley just 2,5 hours away, we can find some of the most famous French chateau such as the château de Chambord, château de Amboise, château de Chenonceau, château de Villandry, along with hundreds of beautiful smaller ones all over the Loire Valley. Most of them are from the middle ages dating back to hundreds of years ago.
When I was living in Los Angeles, I used to drive 5 hours+ to Vegas and San Francisco for my spontaneous last-minutes trips. Now that I am living in France, I really enjoy the convenience of just hopping in the car and stopping by to see a chateau near our house. My goal is to visit as many château as possible all over France. Here are some of the chateaux I've visited recently :
 |
| Château de Trédion |
 |
| Château de Josselin |
 |
| Château d'Artigny |
Sorry about the quality of these pictures taken with my iPhone.
More will be added in the future. Stay tuned!
No comments:
Post a Comment