Château de Chenonceau is the sparkling crown jewel in Loire Valley châteaux. And that’s saying A LOT because they call this area the “Valley of a Thousand Châteaux”.

Chenonceau has been on my Pinterest for a while now, and since I knew we’d be close to it, I HAD to go.

I got a lucky break with a day that wasn’t raining, although it wasn’t sunny either, but you win some, you lose some.

Happily, I found out you can bring pups inside Chenonceau, as long as they are in their owner’s arms. For Lilly, this isn’t an issue, as she’s almost always in Jeremy’s arms.

Since the day was chilly and dreary, we were some of the only people there. That means we got to snap photos like these:

Where can I even start with this place? It’s INCREDIBLE. It’s obviously huge, but it’s not overwhelming. Each room has its place and flows well with the others.

The details are of course, stunning.

I was really fond of the kitchen area, which is weird because I really don’t like cooking. Jeremy was in absolute heaven with all the copper pots.

The flowers were all real, and were literally some of the most beautiful I have ever seen in my life. I tried to ask who their florist was, but from what I gathered [broken French/English], they couldn’t divulge. But my mom and I were both obsessed. You should see the number of photos we have of the flowers…

After losing it over the inside, we got outside and were just as thrilled. Pictures on pictures on pictures. It was cold and drizzling and I still had fun, which should tell you something.

They had an Orangery, which had been converted to a restaurant for tea, but we didn’t make it there before closing time. Ugh.

I want to come back to Chenonceau one day and really take my time, read every single plaque, take even more details pics (new flowers!!), and have tea at the Orangery. Soon, I hope!