The castle of Chanteloup is located on the heights of the town of Amboise, in the department of Indre-et-Loire.
It was built from 1715 for the Princess of Ursins, and became the property in 1763 of the Duke of Choiseul, main minister of Louis XV from 1758 and 1770.
The Duke had major works carried out both at the level of the castle as well as its exteriors. In 1770, fallen into disgrace, he settled there permanently. Sumptuous receptions are organized, and a real court takes advantage of the place, where Choiseul receives visitors from all over Europe.
During the Revolution, the estate was seized and then sold as national property in 1794: part of the furniture was however saved and transferred to the Museum of Fine Arts in Tours.
In the meantime, the scientist and Minister Chaptal has for some time become the master of the links. However, in 1823, the castle ended up being destroyed by property dealers.
All that remains of the splendid property are the French gardens, the beauty of which was sometimes compared to the gardens of Versailles, two pavilions, the caretaker's house and especially the Pagoda: it is an architectural "madness" erected in 1775, designed by Louis-Denis Le Camus and which the Duke of Choiseul had nicknamed his "Monument dedicated to Friendship".
40 meters high, next to a small Chinese garden and a beautiful pond, the building is supported by 16 columns and 16 pillars and its seven floors are built in the form of domes. An internal stone and then mahogany staircase guarded by a wrought iron banister leads to the summit from where you can enjoy a panorama of the forest and the Loire Valley.
The site listed in the Inventory is still private but open to the public from mid-March to mid-November. In addition to the Pagoda, visitors can discover the gardens and walk there over a dozen hectares, discover ancient games or learn about the past of the place via an iconographic museum.
Admission: 8 and 10.50 euros. Information on +33 2 47 57 20 97.
