Visiting the ZooParc de Beauval and staying in a château

A day opening onto the living world, before returning to the calm of an inhabited place.

Many of those who come to La Corroirie wish to discover the ZooParc de Beauval, then extend their stay in another way: in an inhabited, silent château, set between Loches and Montrésor, where the return from the park also becomes part of the experience.

From La Corroirie, reaching Beauval means leaving for a while the retreat of the place and moving towards a wider presence. The road crosses the landscapes of Touraine, along woods and fields, before arriving in a space where the eye changes scale.

Beauval is not simply a succession of species. The place brings into presence a diversity of living beings that goes beyond the act of looking. Some encounters leave a mark, others pass more discreetly, but all take part in a wider perception.

The visit asks for time. It is not crossed quickly. One moves through it slowly, letting the spaces open one after another.

The ZooParc de Beauval lies about twenty-five minutes from La Corroirie. We usually approach it through Nouans-les-Fontaines: this route leads directly towards the south entrance and its parking area, avoiding much of the traffic that can build up at the busiest times.

Once there, everyone gradually develops their own favourites. We have ours: we are particularly fond of the manatees, their almost unreal slowness and the way they move through the water. They are far removed from the spectacular image sometimes associated with Beauval, which may be one of the reasons we return to see them.

The day does not necessarily follow a fixed route. Some visitors choose to cross the whole park, while others prefer to linger in a few spaces, return, and observe for longer.

Animals appear, disappear, move. Nothing is entirely controlled. This is also what gives the visit its truth.

Time expands. The usual rhythm is forgotten, taken up in a succession of gazes, silences and movements.

This day can also belong to a longer stay, among the places to discover around La Corroirie, the villages of Touraine and the quieter returns to the estate.

After a dense day at Beauval, La Corroirie offers another rhythm. One does not come here merely to sleep near the park, but to return to an ancient, inhabited place, where silence takes its place again.

The rooms of the château-monastery of La Corroirie allow the day to continue in a different setting: moat, stones, garden, horizon, evening light. Each room offers its own way of inhabiting the place.

Some guests choose La Corroirie because they wish to visit Beauval while staying in a château. They often find something else as well: calm, the depth of the walls, the presence of the landscape, and the feeling of spending a few days in a place that is not simply crossed.

The return to the estate transforms the day. What has been seen at Beauval remains, but settles differently, in the silence of the moat and the slowness of evening.

Returning to La Corroirie after Beauval means finding another form of presence. Silence returns, along with the stones, the moat and the familiar landscape.

The day does not come to an end; it continues differently. What has been seen still exists, but within a quieter, more inward setting.

From the rooms of the château near the ZooParc de Beauval, the eye returns to water, trees and sky.

It is in this movement back and forth that the day finds its balance: between openness and retreat, between diversity and silence.

A day at Beauval can also open onto other nearby presences. From La Corroirie, the territory is not limited to the park: it continues towards villages, ancient stones and quieter places.

A few minutes away, Montrésor offers a more intimate scale, between river, château and old houses. Further on, the royal town of Loches gives the stay a more medieval depth, between keep, royal residence and collegiate church.

Those who wish to connect these places through a slower reading can follow the Treasure Route, between works of art, landscapes, monastic memory and returns to La Corroirie.