Château de Brissac is a Picturesque Giant of the Loire Valley

Château de Brissac, originally a medieval fortress, bears the name le géant du Val de Loire as it is the highest château in the Loire Valley. It is the current residence of the Duc du Brissac, the 13th duke! The Cossé-Brissac family is one of the oldest in France.

 

Owned by the same family since 1502, the Marquis de Brissac lives here with his wife, the Marquise de Brissac, and their 4 children. For this reason, we could only visit the Château by guided tour.

At 48 meters (approx. 157 ft) high, the Château de Brissac boasts 7 floors and 200 plus rooms. From the back of the Château, the massive stone base of the Château is visible.

Hidden Treasures of Château de Brissac

Some treasures are in plain sight and one of them is this ornate door knocker at the entry to the Château de Brissac.

 

 

The entrance hall or foyer is all marble and stone and displays some incredible stone door mantels. It is called the Halle de Honneur.

 

Grand gallery displays several beautiful Aubusson tapestries.

 

The ceiling in this room was as ornate as the tapestries on the walls!

 

 

The Golden Drawing Room

I really enjoyed The Golden Drawing room as it is filled with family memorabilia. From historic to current day, the room instantly reminded me that we were in someone’s home. However, looking up at the gold-leafed ceiling brings you quickly back to the reality of royalty.

 

 

 

 

Unlike the Golden Drawing Room which was open and airy feeling, the dining room felt closed in and dark even though there were windows on one wall.

 

Below is the Gallery of Portraits which includes 13 dukes and 4 field marshals all of the Brissac family.

 

 

This Belle Epoque theatre from the 19th century was built for a duchess who loved singing and acting.

 

The ante-room to the theatre dwarfed this full-sized billiard table!

 

Bed Chambers

What a magnificent bed chamber! The tapestries here in La Chambre des Chasses definitely captured my attention.

 

La Chambre des Chasses is the Hunting Room and all the tapestries pertain to la chasse or “the hunt”. Look closely at the tapestry below to discover what is being hunted.

 

In contrast to this beautiful blue bedroom, in  the Chambre du Roi Louis XIII everything was in red but it was this ornate desk that captured my attention!

 

 

The Chapel

Sometimes the chapels found at châteaux is in an external building such as the one found at Château de Vincennes just outside of Paris. Here, the chapel was inside the main residence.

As we made our way down to la cave (cellar) for a wine tasting (degustation), we made our way past the stoned paved kitchens of years gone by. These old kitchens are still used today for private receptions and seminars. The collection of copper wares was amazing!

 

Entrance to the Cellar (la Cave) – if you want you can have a degustation or tasting before buying the château’s wine.

 

 

Gardens and Park Lands

Dinner reservations prevented us from wandering the park grounds around the Château so we will save that for another day. However, here are two lovely views of the garden that I took from an upstairs window.

 

 

Visiting the Château de Brissac

Closed between noon and 2pm (14h) the Château de Brissac is open every day except Tuesday.

This video shows the beautiful park land around the Château as well as the exterior of the Château.

The Duke and his wife have three rooms set aside specifically for their B&B guests. Wouldn’t it be amazing to stay the night in this Château!

Getting There

Now here is the best part: If you’ve taken the train from Paris to Angers to visit the château and have no car, no worries! Line 5 bus out of Angers goes to Brissac, Douy-la-Fontaine and Montreuil-Bellay which also has a château to visit. It’s a short ride and the scenery is beautiful!