Château du Lude — Attraction in La Flèche

Interesting Château with a history going back to the 10th Century. Spectacular outside and beautiful parkland garden. The rooms were not all open to the public but they were a good mix of grand historic furniture and art, together with several rooms which were more domestic in scale, and included the huge kitchen and attic servant's quarters. The Château is at the side of Le Lude village, which is very pretty too. Parking is a bit limited at the château but ( out of high season) there was easy parking outside the town hall. Plenty of English translation on information sheets in each room. No café but there is lots of choice in...

According to me a lovely castle! I always preferred to visit castles in which the owners have been living for generations and still are. It gives an extra dimension; You can feel the attachment of the owners to their property! Here you will find the servants quarters as if they just left full of furniture and household tools they used. The owner’s rooms you can visit have a few very nice pieces of furniture! A must visite “Château de la Loir”. Do not forget the...

I appreciate that the Chateau is a private home but I felt a little underwhelmed by the experience. Like a lot of Chateaux the outside is beautiful, the inside a little gloomy and very little of it open to the public. So much so, I'm not sure why it is only open for a limited time. The gardens are nice but not great and again, what look like highlights on the guide are actually private. I'm glad I saw it but...