The Château may not be as beautiful as it once was, but it is worth a visit just to see the Statue... read more
The Château may not be as beautiful as it once was, but it is worth a visit just to see the Statue... read more
Liked the information was printed in different languages as the guide only spoke French... read more
Chateau d'Anet was built in the 14th century and was inhabited by Diane de Poitiers, wife of Henry II of France. It has been captured and retaken, demolished (in part) and rebuilt in the centuries and is now inhabited by a "normal" French family. There are many pictures and items of furniture to admire.They are open every afternoon at 2pm, except on Tuesday, until the end of September. After that I think they only open weekends. Guided tours only. The guides speak French only but there are comprehensive printed notes in other languages. The tour takes about one hour.
I was shocked to find we could not leave the tour when we wanted to. Effectively kept in the house for 75 minutes listening to the guide speaking rapidly in French which I couldn't really understand. Was so glad to get out. Couldn't even have a look at the grounds and no facilities. Very disappointing.
The Château may not be as beautiful as it once was, but it is worth a visit just to see the Statue of Diana the Huntress behind the main Chapel on the right as you enter the Château courtyard. Yes, the tour is in French, but you are given a translation sheet and/or can buy a guidebook in English as a souvenir too. The legend of Diane de Poitiers as the older beauty who captured the heart of renaissance King Henri II at the expense of his wife Catherine de Medici is well known in France and was the subject of the 1950's film 'Diane' starring a very young Roger Moore. This château was her last home. The adjoining spectacular funerary chapel for Diane de Poitiers is her final resting place and is FREE to visit.. Her tomb was rescued from a farm (used as a trough) after the Revolution. Her remains were re-interred in May 2010 after being identifed. From tests done on her remains it seems that she died from toxic poisoning due to ingesting liquid gold over a long period of time to help retain her youthful looks. (She needed to retain her youthful looks as the favourite mistress to King). So all in all, well worth a visit. The château needs more visitors to pay for the immense upkeep of its crumbling walls so do go along.
Liked the information was printed in different languages as the guide only spoke French. Interesting place for history lovers.
Town of Dreux is an hour from the centre of Paris by train. From the train station you can take a number 28 or 80 which takes you to Anet. Dont ask the taxi drivers at the station if a bus goes to Anet as they will tell you no buses goes to the Chateau and then charge you 35 euros - I hate the way people rip off tourists. Anyway the Chateau which appeared in Bond movies was very interesting and although the guide could not speak English, we were given a sheet printed in English with all the information required. Staff very helpful. Entrance to Chateau was 8.50 Euro.
We went out of our way to visit this chateau in May 2012 and were very disappointed. Many people were gathered in the courtyard when we arrived (after paying an entrance fee) and after about 10 minutes an officious woman who turned out to be the guide unlocked the doors of the chateau and we all streamed in and then were led around by the officious guide. The tour was long, we could not understand a word of it, we were not allowed to go into rooms by ourselves and had to stay with the group. The worst part was that we were prohibited (!) from leaving. Since we could not understand a word of the tour we tried to leave by one of the doors, only to find they were locked. When I told the guide I need to leave (by pointing to my watch and looking pained) she wagged her finger at us and refused to let us leave. Nowhere on the website is there any mention (as least there was not in May) of the fact that you are required to join a tour in French in order to see the chateau and no one informed us of it when we arrived and paid the entrance fee (which they refused to refund by the way). If you speak good French this may be an interesting place, otherwise stay away.