Château de Villesavin
Four kilometres south-east of Chambord on a quiet country lane sits Château de Villesavin, built between 1527 and 1537 by Jean Le Breton — the same royal treasurer who oversaw construction of Chambord — as his personal country house. It receives a fraction of Chambord's visitors, yet its intimate courtyard, intact Renaissance dovecote, and extraordinary collection of antique carriages make it one
The Architecture and Courtyard
Villesavin is small enough to feel like a real house rather than a monument, which is precisely its charm. The main building wraps around three sides of a gravel courtyard, its façade decorated with fine Italian-influenced medallions and pilasters that reflect the same Renaissance taste that shaped Chambord — unsurprising, given the shared patron.
The centrepiece of the courtyard is a magnificent circular marble basin, carved in Italy and brought to France in the 16th century, that served as a communal laundry for the château's household. It is one of the finest Renaissance garden ornaments in the Loire and almost no one knows it exists.
The Carriage Museum and Dovecote
Inside the outbuildings, a remarkable collection of 19th-century horse-drawn carriages, sleighs, and sedan chairs fills what was once the château's stables — over 60 vehicles ranging from gilded court coaches to humble farm carts, all in astonishing condition. It is unexpectedly absorbing and completely unlike anything else in the region.
The château's 16th-century dovecote is one of the best-preserved in the Loire Valley, still containing its original rotating ladder (potence) used to reach the 1,500 nesting holes. Dovecotes of this scale were a symbol of feudal privilege — only lords with significant landholdings were permitted to keep pigeons — and Villesavin's is a rare survival in working condition.
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