The Château d’Azay-le-Rideau was built between 1518 and 1527 for Gilles Berthelot, a high-ranking financier under François Ier in an early French Renaissance style. Constructed on an island in the Indre River, the château is characterized by its harmonious proportions, sculpted façades, and steep slate roofs reflected in the surrounding water. After several periods of neglect, the château was restored in the late 19th century and is now preserved by the French state as a key monument of Renaissance architecture in the Loire Valley.
The château is surrounded by a landscaped park created in the 19th century, when the property was redesigned in the style of an English Romantic garden. Developed between 1850 and 1860 under the ownership of the Biencourt family, the park was shaped to enhance the château’s reflections in the Indre. Winding paths, carefully composed viewpoints, and a varied collection of trees—including plane trees, cedars, and redwoods—frame the building and accentuate its island setting.
Built in the 1520s, the honor staircas replaces the traditional medieval spiral staircase with a straight-flight staircase rising through a tall, well-lit tower. Its interior is lined with large windows that illuminate the sculpted decoration, including medallions, pilasters, and motifs inspired by Italian Renaissance models.
The Biencourt Salon evokes the atmosphere of the château’s 19th-century living and reception rooms, reflecting the tastes of the Marquis de Biencourt, who owned Azay-le-Rideau and were notable art collectors. Part of its neo-Renaissance décor has been preserved, including the imposing fireplace, wood panelling, leather-patterned wallpaper, and a painted beam ceiling. Between 2015 and 2017, an extensive restoration was carried out in partnership with the Mobilier National to recreate the salon’s original ambience using detailed 19th-century inventories, photographs, and furnishings records.
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