Château de Cheverny
Cheverny is the inhabited one: built in a single campaign by 1634, held by the Hurault family for six centuries and lived in by them still, which is why its interiors are the finest furnished rooms in the Loire, kept as a home rather than dressed as a museum.
The short version
- Cheverny was built in one campaign by 1634 and the Hurault family still lives in it, which is why its furnished rooms are the finest in the Loire.
- None of our tours go inside Cheverny. Our Loire Valley Day Tour has lunch at Château de Villesavin, a few kilometers away, and the Ultimate Loire tastes wine at Cour-Cheverny between Blois and Chambord.
- Admission is €15.50 for château and gardens, €20.50 with the Tintin exhibition; children under 7 enter free.
- The estate opens 365 days a year, 9:15 to 18:00 from April to September and 10:00 to 17:00 in winter.
- Cheverny is 15 km from Blois and 65 km from Tours, about an hour by car. There is no station.
Interiors, Hounds, and Tintin
The state rooms hold their original seventeenth-century decoration and furniture down to the tapestries, and the private-apartments circuit shows the house as the family uses it. Outside, the kennels hold the pack of around a hundred French tricolor hounds, with the daily feeding a spectacle of its own. Hergé used Cheverny, minus its outer wings, as the model for Marlinspike Hall, Captain Haddock’s house, and a permanent Tintin exhibition on the grounds documents it.
Visiting
Cheverny opens every day of the year; hours, prices, and feeding times are at chateau-cheverny.com. It sits 15 minutes from Blois and 20 from Chambord by car, making the Chambord-Cheverny pairing the natural day for anyone who wants scale in the morning and warmth in the afternoon.
Cheverny pairs with Chambord, 20 minutes away; the top ten castles page lays out the day.
Planning the day
Cheverny pairs with Chambord: scale in the morning, 20 minutes down the road, and furnished rooms after lunch. Blois is 15 km the other way, so a car-based day can take in all three. Tickets are sold on site only and cannot be reserved, which matters in July and August, when the gates open at 9:15 and the château runs until 18:30.
From April to November 11 the €21 ticket adds an electric boat and car ride through the park; the Tintin exhibition, the Secrets of Marlinspike Hall, adds €5 to the basic ticket. The estate opens 365 days a year, including December 25 and January 1, on winter hours of 10:00 to 17:00.
None of our tours go inside Cheverny. Our Loire Valley Day Tour has lunch at Château de Villesavin a few kilometers away, and the five-day Ultimate Loire tastes Romorantin wine at Cour-Cheverny between Blois and Chambord.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why are Cheverny’s interiors special?
Because the same family has lived in the château for six centuries and never sold it up: the seventeenth-century state rooms keep their original decoration and furniture, the best-preserved interiors in the Loire.
Is Cheverny the Tintin castle?
Yes. Hergé modeled Marlinspike Hall on Cheverny with the outer wings removed, and the estate hosts a permanent Tintin exhibition documenting the connection.
What are the Cheverny hounds?
A working pack of around a hundred French hunting hounds kenneled at the château, with a posted daily feeding time that draws a crowd of its own.
