Things to do during a château stay: 10 ways to explore Touraine

What can you do during a château stay? Much depends on the place you choose. Exploring its history and buildings, walking through the grounds, discovering nearby villages or simply spending a quiet afternoon on site can all be part of the experience. Over several nights, there is no need to fit everything into a single day.

At an inhabited château-monastery such as La Corroirie in Touraine, the historic buildings themselves become a starting point. The rooms, medieval church, moat, woods and surrounding villages make it possible to alternate outings with time spent closer to home.

1. Discover the château’s history and architecture

Staying in a historic building gives you the chance to understand the place in which you sleep. Depending on the château, this may mean visiting an old chapel or church, former working spaces, storerooms, courtyards or rooms shaped by several centuries of use.

At La Corroirie, the château-monastery visit introduces the site’s Carthusian history, its medieval church, former monastic buildings and the ways in which the estate was organised.

2. Explore the gardens, moat and grounds

The surroundings of a château are often as much a part of the stay as its interiors. Gardens, moats, meadows, woodland and paths reveal the relationship between the old buildings and their setting.

These places change throughout the day. A walk in the morning light is different from returning along the same path after a visit elsewhere in Touraine.

3. Spend time enjoying your room

A room in an old château need not be somewhere you enter late and leave early. Its proportions, windows, materials and views can all express something of the building’s history.

At La Corroirie, the five guest rooms each relate differently to the château-monastery: some look towards the moat or distant fields, others towards the church and gardens, while another is more inward-looking.

To see those differences together, our article on staying in an inhabited château includes photographs and descriptions of all five rooms.

4. Walk through the estate and surrounding countryside

Several nights in one place leave time for unhurried walks. Paths, woodland edges, fields and water offer ways of discovering the countryside immediately around a château, without organising a major excursion every day.

This proximity matters: not every day needs to be devoted to a famous monument some distance away.

5. Discover nearby towns and villages

A château can be a useful base for getting to know its surrounding area. From La Corroirie, Loches offers a Royal City, historic streets and museums, while Montrésor brings together a château, a collegiate church, old houses and walks beside the Indrois.

Our guide to places to discover around La Corroirie provides further ideas for planning each day according to distance and the time available.

6. Give a major Loire Valley château a whole day

When staying in Touraine, you can choose one major monument for the day instead of trying to visit several in quick succession.

The Château de Chenonceau, for example, brings together its rooms, galleries, gardens and the River Cher. Spending time there and returning to the same accommodation in the evening gives the visit room to unfold.

7. Discover art, craft and living activities on site

Some historic places also welcome contemporary work and activities: exhibitions, artworks in the landscape, small-scale production or conversations with people who work there.

At La Corroirie, Vox Alchimia introduces Land Art into the grounds. The Élixir4 distillery is another living part of the château-monastery, with occasional opportunities to discover its work.

8. Explore local food and nearby restaurants

Meals are another way to discover an area. Several nights allow you to alternate between a village restaurant, somewhere in a nearby town and a simple evening meal at your accommodation.

Our restaurants and gastronomy guide brings together places to eat around Loches, Montrésor and southern Touraine, including options for an evening close to La Corroirie.

9. Leave a half-day without a planned visit

A château stay does not need to be filled from morning until evening. Reading in your room, walking beside the moat or returning early after an outing are also ways of enjoying the place you chose.

This becomes more meaningful over several nights. It is part of the difference between staying within a historic house and simply visiting one for a few hours, as explored in our article on the experience of an inhabited château.

10. Stay long enough to see the place at different hours

One night allows little time to become familiar with a château. Over several days, you see its courtyards, stonework, rooms and paths in the morning, after an excursion and again in the evening.

The place gradually becomes recognisable: a particular view, the light on a wall, a familiar route through the grounds. That continuity is part of what makes a stay different from an overnight stop.

A few days at La Corroirie

At La Corroirie, the days might combine the château-monastery, its moat and woods, Vox Alchimia, neighbouring villages and one or two of the great sights of the Loire Valley.

The Treasure Route also connects works of art, monuments and villages around the estate, offering another way to explore this part of Touraine.

The value of staying in a château lies in being able to combine time spent on site with the places discovered nearby, without packing up and moving on every evening.

La Corroirie’s guest rooms provide a base for several nights. Our visits and experiences page introduces what there is to do at the château-monastery and in its surroundings.