We visited Chateau de Blois while we were living in Orleans in the Loire Valley in 2025. This castle was high up on our list to visit because it was easy to get to, famous for its many architectural styles, and once the royal seat of France.
The Royal Château of Blois (aka Château Royal de Blois) is part historic castle, part art gallery and part modern light exhibit. It has over 30 furnished rooms to explore and more than 35,000 pieces in its collection.
We had a lovely time exploring this castle, one of the more unique ones we visited in the Loire Valley on a Blois day trip. It wasn’t my favourite castle in the Loire Valley, but I do think it has enough positives to warrant a visit.
Below I’ll walk you through what to expect at the castle and help you decide whether or not you should add Chateau Blois to your France bucket list!
But first, why is it called Chateau Royal de Blois?
One of the things that makes Blois Castle unique is that it was once a royal residence. While there are many castles in the Loire Valley, not all of them were home to French kings and queens.
If a king of France made a chateau his home, the chateau got “royal” added to its name. Blois Chateau must be very royal because seven kings of France lived there between 1462 and 1610!
Those kings were Henri IV, Louis XII, Francois I, Henri II, Francois II, Charles IX and Henri III, if you’re curious!
Other royalty called Chateau de Blois home too, though they weren’t kings. From 1372 to 1660, Gaston of Orleans, Charles of Orleans, Louis of Orleans and Jean of Angouleme all lived at Blois Chateau.
Getting to Chateau Blois
One of the best parts about visiting Chateau Blois is that it’s very easy to get to by train. You can take a train to the main station, Blois-Chambord, and walk to the castle in just 10 minutes.
You can also easily go from Paris to Blois by train. In as little as 95 minutes, you can get from Paris to Blois by train with one transfer. Slower trains connect the two cities in just over three hours.
Once you arrive at Blois-Chambord, it’s a quick 10 minute walk to the chateau. The castle is up on a hill, but it’s a nice slow curved road to get up there.
I didn’t find it too difficult to walk up (and we had our stroller) but if your mobility is limited, there’s also a bus that goes from the train station to the castle taking about seven minutes.
Of course, you can also drive to Blois Castle (but it’ll take longer than the train). From Paris it’s a 2.5 hour drive, from Orleans it’s a one hour drive (or 30 min train) and from Amboise it’s a 35 minute drive (or 20 min train).
Practical info for visiting Chateau de Blois
Here’s what you need to know to plan your visit to Chateau Royal de Blois:
- The castle is open all year, except on Jan 1 and Dec 25.
- It’s open from 10am to 5pm all year, with extended hours from 9am to 6:30pm in the summer.
- Adult admission to the chateau is €16 ($19 USD), with additional costs for guided tours, audioguides, and the sound and light show.
- Reduced tickets for students are €12 ($14 USD), children 6-17 years old pay €8 ($9 USD) and children under six enter for free.
- You can also buy combined tickets for the chateau and another city site if you’re planning to do more sight-seeing in Blois.
- Dogs are not allowed inside the chateau.
- If you’re visiting the chateau with a baby, note that strollers are not allowed inside the apartments and metal hiking carriers are not allowed either.
There is stroller parking at the chateau, where we left our travel stroller while we went through the castle with Baby C. It’s unsupervised but in a small covered room.
There are also lockers you can use to store any bags/coats. They’re free of charge but require a €1 deposit to open.
For the most up to date information about visiting the castle, click here.
The four distinct architectural styles of Blois Chateau
One of the things that makes Blois Castle so unique and that you can see immediately upon entering the inner courtyard is that the castle is made up of four very distinct architectural styles.
We’ve got:
- Gothic: This is the medieval part of the chateau that was originally built by the Count of Blois in the 9th Century. It now houses the largest 13th Century Gothic civilian room in France.
- Flamboyant: Built from 1498-1508, this is where you see Nordic influences combine with Italian decor. It’s a red brick building that today houses the castle’s fine art museum.
- Renaissance: This wing, built from 1515-1519, shows just how quickly architectural styles were evolving, as it was built only a few years after the wing before it. It fuses Italian Renaissance style with French structures, like with its open spiral staircase.
- Classicism: Constructed for Gaston, the Duke of Orleans and brother to King Louis XIII, from 1635-1638, this wing was never completed as Gaston ran out of money to finish it.
Now that you know a bit more about the castle, it’s time to start exploring!
Go back in time in the Francois I Wing
Start your visit at Blois Chateau with the Francois I Wing. On the ground floor you’ll get a historical introduction to the castle and be able to see some original sculptures and the former kitchens.
To me, this part felt more like walking through a museum where pieces were on display, rather than through recreated, historic rooms. Still, it was cool to see the exterior sculptures up close.
Next, you’ll head up to the first and second floors (or second and third floors if you’re North American) to see the Royal Apartments.
The first floor is decorated in a late 16th Century style. This is where King Francois I and his wife Claude of France, and later King Henri II and his wife Catherine de Medici (who was a big name at nearby Chateau de Chenonceau) lived.
Gaston of Orleans also lived in this wing because his wing was never completed. On the next floor up you’ll find the King’s Apartments, where King Henri III lived.
I enjoyed visiting these two floors; my favourite part of any chateau is seeing the recreated rooms. However, they were more sparsely decorated than some other castles we had visited. I really loved the floor, ceiling and wall tiles, but the rooms themselves didn’t have a ton of furniture or things to look at.
(PS: If you’re looking for ornate rooms, visit Chateau de Cheverny!)
There were also some art pieces and historic artifacts to look at, as well as write ups in both French and English to learn more about the chateau. This wing ends in the Great Hall where there’s even a faux throne you can sit on!
Get artsy in the Louis XII Wing
Next, head over to the Louis XII Wing (aka the Flamboyant style part of the chateau). This wing used to be the royal apartments for King Louis XII and Anne of Brittany, but was converted to a fine art museum in 1869.
Here you’ll find art from the 16th to 19th Century, including works by Ingres, Rubens and Boucher.
I’ll be honest: I’m not a huge art lover, so this part of the castle didn’t do much for me. But it was interesting enough to walk through!
And I think it’s a good use of the space to display art instead of only having recreated or, worse, empty historic rooms.
Take a peek inside the Gaston of Orleans Wing
The final wing you can visit is the Gaston of Orleans Wing. This was the wing that wasn’t completed, because Gaston ran out of money, but the vestibule was finally finished in the 19th Century during castle restorations.
Unfortunately, not much of this wing is open to the public. During our visit, I was able to enter into the main hallway and look up the stairs. The staircase was blocked off and, even more disappointing, the door to the Lices Terrace was locked.
The Lices Terrace looks over the city of Blois and is said to have some beautiful views. Apparently it’s closed on bad weather days, but it was a beautiful, sunny day when we visited, so I’m not sure why it was locked.
See the views from Foix Terrace & Gardens
Luckily, there’s one more terrace at Blois Castle that also offers some nice views.
Off to the side of the castle, you’ll find the Foix Terrace and Gardens. They’re designed in a contemporary style and pay homage to Anne of Brittany and Gaston of Orleans, both of whom were big plant lovers.
Here you’ll also find the Foix Tower, which was part of the 13th Century castle fortifications. In the 17th Century, Gaston of Orleans removed the roof to build an astronomical observatory.
I was surprised that the gardens at Blois Castle were so small. They were the smallest gardens of any of the chateaux we visited. But they were still very enjoyable.
(PS: If you’re looking for epic gardens, visit Chateau de Villandry!)
I liked walking over to the far side of the terrace where we had a view over the river, town and a large church. It was a very peaceful and quiet spot – I was even able to nurse Baby C there totally undisturbed!
Admire Saint-Calais Chapel
Don’t miss the Saint-Calais Chapel as you leave the gardens and make your way out of the Blois Castle complex. This chapel was built under King Louis XII and consecrated in 1508.
During WWII, the chapel was bombed. During restoration in 1957, new stained glass was put in that depicts important figures from the castle’s history.
It’s a very small chapel, but definitely worth poking your head into before you leave!
After the castle, what else is there to do in Blois?
Right across the street from Chateau Blois is the Robert Houdin House of Magic. We unfortunately ran out of time to visit, but just seeing the animatronic snake show out front was very cool!
Down the road from the castle you’ll find a charming old town to walk through, the WWII Resistance Museum, churches and parks, and lots more!
Stay tuned for my full post of things to do in Blois.
Wrapping up: Is Chateau de Blois worth visiting?
Overall, I enjoyed visiting Chateau Royal de Blois and I’m glad we went. There are a lot of great reasons to visit Chateau de Blois:
- It’s a royal palace where kings of France lived
- It’s made up of four different architectural styles
- You get to see both royal apartments and a fine art museum
- There’s a nice view over Blois town
- And it’s only a 10 minute walk from the train station!
But it wasn’t my favourite Loire Valley chateau. I didn’t think the rooms were decorated enough, I’m not a big fan of art galleries and I was hoping for a larger garden to explore.
We also weren’t able to stay late enough to see the sound and light show (which we would’ve had to pay extra for anyway), and the main terrace was closed.
Despite it not being my favourite, I’m still glad we took a day trip to Blois and visited the castle. It was a very unique chateau and there was enough to do in Blois to fill the rest of our day.
Blois would also make a great base in the Loire Valley as it’s a picturesque town with lots to do and centrally located to some of the best chateaux in the region like Cheverny, Chambord and Chenonceau.
I’d love to know: Is Chateau de Blois on your France bucket list? Or, if you’ve been to Blois Castle already, what did you think of it?
