The Ceasar de Vendome bedroom has a beautiful mantel above the fireplace with a royal lion in the middle and 19th-century classical paintings around it, 17th-century Brussels tapestries on the walls, and statues of goddesses carrying the arch of the windows. And next door is Catherine de Medici’s bedroom with beautiful red/light blue and gold painted ceilings split in squares, painted walls with exotic plants, gorgeous tapestries, wonderfully sewn bed and Corregio’s painting. Connected with this bedroom is Cabinet d’Estampes with aquamarine walls and a beautiful plafond on the ceiling, gravures on the walls showing views of Chenonceau, adjacent small room has a beautiful Renaissance ceiling, same walls and more paintings of chateau. The second floor also has a gallery that has temporary exhibitions of modern day painters. The gallery has beautiful fireplaces on each end with mantels decorated with titans on the sides and royal coats of arms in the middle. Up the staircase yet again, and there is another large hall with arched Renaissance ceilings leads to the most unglamorous room in the building – Louise de Lorraine’s bedroom. It is very dark with brown ceilings and black walls. She lived here after her husband king Henri III was killed and the decoration of the room is a symbol of eternal mourning.

On your way back to the exit, you can also walk through a large maze made of yews with the statues of Caryatides in the background, and stroll through the park with tall large trees that create a lot of shade. On a hot day it is very refreshing.

Between the gallery and Diane de Poitiers’ bedroom, there is the Green Study (named so because it has green walls), the room from which Catherine de Medici ruled France. It boasts paintings by Tintoretto, Jordaens, Veronese, Van Dyck, Ribera and exceptional Brussels tapestries. The library continues the green theme with green velvet walls and has a great view of the gardens from the window, a gorgeous coffered Renaissance ceiling, and paintings by Corregio, del Sarto, and Bassano. Diane de Poitiers’ bedroom next door has a large white fireplace with golden letters "H" and "C" with crowns and lilies for Henri and Catherine, Murillo’s painting "Virgin and child", and two large Flemish tapestries depicting the triumph of force and charity.

The Guards’ Room can be either the first or the last room that you see on the first floor. It has a coat of arms above the fireplace and tapestries on the walls; the floor tiles used to be blue glazed, but nothing much is left from the glaze. The Chapel, which is located between the Guards’ Room and Diane de Poitier’s bedroom, has modern stained-glass windows by Max Ingrand, original Gothic naves, a Carrara marble statue of the Virgin in the niche on the right, and paintings by Cano, Sasoferrato, and Ribera.

A Renaissance staircase (one of the first Italian staircases in France) with ribbed vaults and coffers decorated with human faces with various expressions leads to the second floor. Here the tour starts with the Five Queens’ bedroom with Flemish tapestries with scenes of the siege of Troy and kidnapping of Helen, Renaissance coffered ceiling with five queens’ coats of arms, the queen’s bed with crimson coverings and hand-sewn baldachin; from the double balcony there is the best view of the tower and the gardens. Catherine Briconnet’s hall, with a great view of the staircase and 17th-century Audenarde tapestries on both sides, leads to Chamber of Gabrielle d’Estrees with beautiful bed and tapestries on the wall, painting of Saint Cecilia to the left of the bed on the wall. Gabriel d’Estrees was Henri IV’s favorite and mother of Ceasar de Vendome who was the owner of Chenonceau in the 17th century and whose bedroom is right next door.

Continued in Part V

To the right of the entrance is Salon Louis XIV, called so because the king once visited the chateau and much later donated a portrait of him by Rigaud that is hanging to the left of the fireplace with golden salamander and ermine and royal crowns. Louis XIV also donated furniture upholstered with Aubusson tapestries. On the opposite wall there is a portrait of Madame Dupin, who owned the chateau in the 18th century and saved it from destruction during the French Revolution. There are also paintings by Rubens, Van Loo, and Nattier. The salon connects with the Francois I bedroom, which has a Renaissance ceiling and walls with flower patterns in red and blue on gold background, a 16th-century bureau with pearl inlay, "Self-portrait" by Van Dyck, white plaster above the door with coats of arms, "Gabrielle d’Estrees as Huntress Diane" by Dubois across from the fireplace, and the symbol of the chateau – a large portrait of Diane de Poitiers by le Primatice on the same wall. This room also has Zurbaran’s "Archimedes" and Van Loo’s "Three graces," which shows three sisters who each were favorites of the king Louis XV. Kitchens downstairs with a large 16th-century pantry, copper pots and pans and a huge fireplace are connected with the dining room for the staff with dry vegetables hanging from the ceilings. There is a butchery next door with large sparing knives and a leather table for the paring of the meat.

From the kitchens, you get to the gallery via a long hall with gorgeous ribbed vaulted ceilings, Renaissance sculptures along the walls, and modern stained-glass windows by Max Ingrand, who replaced a lot of stained glass windows all over France after they were destroyed during both of the world wars of the 20th century. The two-floor gallery was built by Catherine de Medici on the bridge across the river, and it is obviously inspired by Florence (Catherine de Medici's hometown). The bridge below was built by Diane de Poitiers, and it is that arched bridge that gives the chateau the magical appearance that it’s famous for. The gallery has a lot of light coming from the large arched windows, and between the windows there are niches with a cypress tree in each. The gallery was converted into the hospital during the 1914-18 war. Nowadays nothing reminds of that. You get a great view of the gardens from the windows on each side and there are two beautiful fireplaces at each end of the gallery.

Continued in Part IV

There is a train station right in front of the chateau entrance, and you can pick your own order to see what the estate has to offer. There is a long alley lined with chestnut trees that leads from the entrance to the chateau, and on the way there you pass a small pond with black swans. We started with the donkey field, where three donkeys were asking for some food, and since nobody gave them anything, they turned around and went into the shed. Then there was a flower garden with purple and pink asters, alleys of dwarf apple trees full of ripe apples waiting to be picked, rows of various vegetables – tomatoes, beets, cabbage, carrots, cucumbers, zucchini, and peppers - and through the arch you find yourself on the 16th-century farm, with small cottages, well-trimmed grass, and black swans in the pond.

A little bit ahead is Galerie des Dames, and just a very short distance further is the chateau. Galerie des Dames used to be royal stables, but now this is a wax museum that shows women who built the chateau: Katherine de Briconnet, Dianne de Poitiers, Catherine de Medici, Mary Stuart, Louise de Lorraine, Madame Daupin, and Madame Pelouze. The museum also has a costume collection. The admission to Galerie des Dames is not included in the entrance ticket price; a separate ticket costs 3 euros.

To the right of the chateau are the Gardens of the Medici, where pink gardenias and rose trees form beautiful patterns. From here, you can see the whole length of the chateau, with the square front part with pointed towers and roofs and the rectangular portion with arches above the river that look like an old bridge. The chateau is separated from gardens by the drawbridge with an impressive tower on it. The Marques tower is one of the few original buildings that were part of the estate when Bohier bought. The estate belonged to the Marques family, and the tower got a makeover in the Renaissance style. Now it houses a souvenir shop. The entrance to the chateau itself has a beautiful double balcony and Renaissance dormers with a small tower on each side.

Continued in Part III