Château de Chamerolles
France > Loire > Chateaux > Chamerolles
Situated approximately 30km northeast of Orléans towards Pithiviers, Chamerolles is a sixteenth-century Château (Feb, March & Oct–Dec daily except Tues 10am–noon & 2–5pm; April–June & Sept daily except Tues 10am–6pm; July & Aug daily 10am–6pm; €4.90), whose pristine condition is devoid of the well-worn patina you may have come to expect. Its history is unusually sedate, having passed peacefully through various private hands to the local government of the Loiret region, in 1987. The principal attraction is the Promenade des Parfums in the south wing, which traces the use of scents from the sixteenth century to the present day. With its "press-and-smell" buttons and reconstructed "toilets" it's great fun, not least for its revelations about European lavatorial habits over the last four hundred years. Behind the Château is a reconstruction of the Renaissance gardens laid out by the château's first lord, one Lancelot du Lac.To get there using public transport, take a bus from Orléans to Chielleurs-aux-Boix, from where you'll have to walk the last 3km.
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