Two Secret Châteaux – The Curtain Rises!
If you are enjoying a luxury cruise gliding along the breathlessly beautiful waterways of France, it might seem like a heresy to suggest that from time to time you step ashore, but you won’t regret it. Some of our finest discoveries have been on land, although the watery journey to them has played a huge part in the thrill of it all. Guide books will only take you so far – we want to let you in on the secret of our own hidden gems, confident that they will be the making of your European vacation.
There are exquisite chateaux around almost every corner in France and it can be difficult to know where to start, but with a theatrical flourish we have selected two for your delight – and the word theatrical is important here. While many fine old castles boast priceless art collections or devastatingly pretty gardens, not many of them are blest with theatres which have celebrity connections, but…
The Chateau de Digoine
The Chateau de Digoine is visible from one of our favourite waterways, the sleepy and sometimes overlooked Canal du Centre which runs through the Burgundy departement of Saone et Loire. Le Creusot station is a short drive away and offers TGV connections to Paris and Lyons if you are not lucky enough to arrive on a luxury barge.
Originating in 1390, the current chateau dates from the Napoleonic era at the beginning of the 19th century and is effortlessly elegant. The gardens will leave horticulturalists weak at the knees, but the tiny theatre is the star of the show and generally agreed to be as fine as anything in the palace of Versailles. It can seat a hundred guests in the stalls and balcony and comes complete with the original painted back cloths, a prompter’s box, and even an orchestra pit.
What makes this small theatre special is that Sarah Bernhardt, France’s most celebrated 19th century actress, appeared here briefly in 1900 and there are connections with the composer Offenbach too.
Hotel barges that cruise the Canal du Centre and the River Saône region of Burgundy South include
Lilas (Belmond), Finesse, Grand Victoria, and La Vie en Rose
The Chateau de Cirey
If the auditorium at Digoine gives you a taste for small but perfectly formed performance venues then we have a treat in store for you. The Chateau de Cirey is tucked away between Joinville and Chaumont and we first stumbled upon it when we were on a cruise on the Canal entre Champagne et Bourgogne in the north east of France.
A medieval fortress, it was updated in the eighteenth century by its most famous associate, the writer and philosopher Voltaire, who fled here after the publication of his Philosophical Letters excited the fury of King Louis the Fifteenth. Voltaire’s mistress, Emily, Countess de Chatelet, gave him refuge there for fifteen years and over-riding any protests from her husband, he built himself a laboratory for his experiments and a theatre in which to rehearse his plays. (Emily was no intellectual slouch herself – her translation of Isaac Newton’s writings is still taught in French universities. Voltaire’s nickname for her was Madame Newton Pompom). The approach to the theatre is up an unprepossessing flight of stairs which in no way prepares you for the miniature marvel that is waiting for you under the eaves – the oldest (and possibly the smallest) theatre in France that is still on view today.
Voltaire once remarked, “I’ve decided to be happy because it is good for the health,” and a trip to his former home should make you very happy indeed.
Burgundy South ~ Saône
Famous for its red and white wines and its Grand Cru route through the vineyards, the region bursts with culinary prowess too. The Dukes of Burgundy left an historic legacy, including medieval Beaune, the modern city of Dijon and one of the most popular waterway routes from Paris, the Canal de Bourgogne, which meanders through the Côtes d’Or and into the peaceful Saône river southwards.
