Discover French magical Christmas châteaux in the Loire valley

The run-up to Christmas in France is far more discreet than in the UK. In fact sometimes it can be hard for us Brits to get into the festive mood, especially when the news is more doom and gloom than ho-ho-ho.

A weekend trip can be the answer, but there is no need to leave the country. Both Strasbourg and Paris have extensive Christmas markets and plenty of shopping on offer, but the best festive fix by far is to be found in the Loire.

Typical summertime images of sun-soaked vineyards, cycle paths and chateaux basking in the sun are replaced with sumptuous festive table arrange-ments, romantic crèches de Noël, forests of Christmas trees, grottos, and log fires. 

Think snowy landscapes, gingerbread houses, wooden toys, reindeer, plentiful sweets and cakes, oranges, hot chocolate and mulled wine.

Chateaux colloboration

Seven of the most popular Loire chateaux work together each year to offer Noël au Pays des Châteaux. 

Last year 173,000 people made the trip and this year, the eighth, is likely to attract even bigger crowds. 

You can either simply visit your favourite chateau, or buy a pass to three (€41), five (€61), or seven (€77) chateaux, which also includes discounts to other attractions in the area. 

The event runs from November 30, 2024 to January 5, 2025, so there is time to see as many chateaux as you like. 

Choose from Chenonceau, Amboise, Azay-le-Rideau, Villandry, Langeais, the Forteresse Royale de Chinon, and the Cité Royale de Loches. Or better still, visit them all.

Each year, teams of designers compete to create the best decorations. Some are themed (fairy-tales, Disney, medieval legends, for example) and others are more traditional.

Some opt for a medieval vibe and others are more 19th century. Some also offer entertainment and special events. Santa is never far away.

Attic grotto and hand-made soap

At Villandry, which is surrounded by fabulous formal gardens, there is a fairy-tale grotto in the attic, which you can explore having wandered through the reception rooms festooned with decorations, admiring the Christmas trees in the drawings rooms, the mounds of presents in the bedrooms, and the preparations in the kitchen.

As you enter the attic the lights become dimmer and it is as if you are in a fairy-tale forest.

The nature theme does not stop there; throughout the palace the sharp-eyed can spot squirrels and owls, foxes and hares hiding behind the Christmas trees or perched in the decorative swags of greenery. 

The dining room showcases the traditional Provençal ‘13 desserts’, and there are 500 ornaments in the Oriental Salon alone. Do not miss the musical bears on the second floor.

The chateau will be open on the evening of December 14.

Just outside the chateau is a shop selling wonderful hand-made soap. Its name, Soap’erlipopette, is a pun on the word saperlipopette which means ‘Good gracious!’

Expect to utter this when you peruse the shelves stacked with soaps containing flower petals and coffee grounds, lavender flowers and essential oils. There are also solid shampoos, laundry soap, organic toothpaste, and soaps suitable for cats and dogs.

Food-based Christmas

In town, try La Biscuiterie de Chambord Villandry, which sells honey and spice cakes and a full range of biscuits and cookies, including gluten-free options. They also have an online shop.

Château d’Azay-le-Rideau is wonderful because you can walk through the kitchens, which give the impression that the cooks are just about to come back from the past to continue preparing the Christmas feast.

Food is the dominant theme of this visit, and the decorations have been re-designed for 2025. 

Be prepared for teetering mountains of gingerbread, beautifully decorated biscuits, richly decorated dining tables, delicious edible Christmas trees and mouth-watering decorations. They will be open on the evening of December 7.

For more foodie treats, shop the Christmas markets in Tours (open from November 24 to December 26).

There are three, around the Boulevard Heurteloup, the Place de la Résistance, and the Place Anatole France, which have roasted chestnuts and hot chocolate scented with cinnamon.

Village d’Hiver

The specially decorated Village d’Hiver in Place Anatole France has a big wheel (45 metres tall) and a huge roller-skating rink (1,000m2) as well as a Village Gourmand containing 20 chalets and a Pyramide de Noël selling cocktails and vin chaud (mulled wine). 

This is the place to grab a seat if you can. Get one on the first floor for a great view over the market.

As well as local produce and handi­crafts, there are also fairground rides and attractions for children. 

The markets open at 11:00 but are at their best in the late afternoon when the early darkness makes the lights twinkle, and the scent of vin chaud is all the more inviting.

There is also a real ice rink in the Place Anatole France, (open from November 26, 2024 to January 2, 2025) where Santa gives out free sweeties to children on Wednesday afternoons.

Immersive enchanted forest

The Cité Royale de Loches has also re-designed its Christmas displays and decorations. The visit takes place in the donjon (keep) as well as the royal residence, covering 500 years of history. 

This year the theme is Hansel and Gretel, with gingerbread houses decorated with candy canes, barley sugar twists, boiled sweets, chocolate and icing.

The walk through the enchanted forest is completely immersive, you really do feel as if you are in the woods.

It is no surprise that the displays have been designed in partnership with a local sweet-making company. The chateau will be open in the evening on December 29.

Flea market and foire

In Loches, there is a flea market every Sunday morning, and a sprawling street market every Wednesday and Saturday. They are all good places to trawl for presents, or just to enjoy the atmos­phere.

On December 15, Loches holds its annual foire, with marching bands, fireworks, donkey and pony rides, a mini farm for children, photos with Father Christmas, a pedal-cart track, and all sorts of other games.

It starts at 10:00 and finishes at 18:00 just in time to retire to a cosy bar for apéros. Book ahead if you want to eat in a restaurant in Loches that evening.

Traditional decorations

Chenonceau, a personal favourite, is the most traditional when it comes to Christmas. 

In keeping with the period, there are no electric fairy lights or models of Santa. In fact Santa does not make an appearance at all. There are beautifully decorated trees in every room, as well as the floral arrangements for which Chenonceau is rightly famous.

A highlight is the breathtakingly beautiful crèche in the chapel.

This year, the decorations have been designed by talented in-house florist Jean-François Boucher in partnership with La Maison Bernardaud, the maker of fine Limoges porcelain and china. 

Look for references to the Italian heritage of Catherine de’ Medici, but do not bother counting the blooms on display. There will be hundreds of beautiful arrange­ments. The chateau will be open in the evening on December 26.

Prolong the sense of festive wonder with a visit to the Eglise Saint-Jean-Baptiste in the village. Parts of it date back to the 11th and 12th centuries, and the stained glass is very beautiful as are the statues and paintings. 

You might not travel far just to visit this church, but it is worth seeing if you are in the village.

Royal festivities

The Forteresse Royale de Chinon, the refuge of English King Henry II, is steeped in medieval history and is particularly associated with Eleanor of Aquitaine. 

To mark the 900th anniversary of her birth, the fortress is celebrating the festive season with a homage to her royal family, the Plantagenets.

There will be winter arrangements of flowers, moss and greenery, along with the scents of dried oranges and spices. 

The dining table will be laid for a royal banquet; here it will be easy to imagine royal guests taking their places for the midwinter celebrations. The chateau will be open in the evening on December 28.

A novelty offering at the fortress is an escape game set within the site. It takes around 90 minutes to complete and can be played by individuals, or teams ranging from 2 to 28 participants.

Solving each puzzle leads you through secret passageways into rooms which are not normally open to the public. See the website for details.

Toy-themed Christmas

The Château d’Amboise will be less traditional, with decorations themed around the film Toy Story. 

This references the large number of royal children who grew up here, including those of Henri II of France and Catherine de’ Medici. 

The decorations will include vintage-style toys, as well as a huge Playmobil fortified castle, and Corolle baby dolls. Imagine Spiderman face-to-face with Louis XI, and Louis-Philippe driving an electric train. 

The chateau will be open in the evening on December 21.

The nearby Conservatoire de la Confiserie sells all kinds of confectionery made on the premises. 

In the afternoons you can walk around its small museum of vintage machines and watch artisan sweet-maker Nicolas Viollet make sweets in front of you. 

Visitors get a free lollipop as part of the visit. Ring ahead to check times of the demonstrations.

Illuminations and wine

Langeais offers room after room of dazzling illuminations: candles, lanterns, cascades of fairy lights, and electric light displays. 

Wander around the palace where Charles VIII and Anne de Bretagne lived to find inspiration for your own home. Look out for the house of elves, a waterfall of feathers, and glittering golden baubles. 

Langeais will be open in the evening on December 27.

For Christmas shopping, the Maison des Vins de Bourgueil has a selection of around 180 different wines and offers tastings of a dozen. The patron explains everything and does not push for sales.

A weekend visiting chateaux and shopping in the Loire Valley will definitely get you into the Christmas spirit. Joyeux Noël!