Cheverny is one of the most elegant chateaux in the Loire Valley, and unlike many of its neighbours, it is still lived in — the Hurault family and their descendants, the marquis de Vibraye, have owned the estate for nearly seven centuries. That continuity gives Cheverny a quality rare among the great Loire chateaux: it feels like a home rather than a monument.
The present chateau was completed in 1634 by Henri Hurault, Count of Cheverny. Built from Bourré stone — a local limestone that grows whiter and harder with age — it has an almost dazzling whiteness in good light. The architect Boyer de Blois and the painter Jean Mosnier directed both the construction and the interior decoration, which remains largely intact and includes some remarkable 17th-century painted ceilings and tapestries.
Cheverny is also famous as a centre of venery: the estate maintains a working hunt, and the kennels house over a hundred English foxhounds. The trophy room displays the antlers of more than 2,000 stags taken over the centuries, a slightly startling sight in the context of such refined surroundings. The chateau is a short drive from Blois and pairs well with a visit to Chambord. Three kilometres away, Château de Troussay — the smallest of the Loire châteaux — is worth an hour of any visitor's time.