About the area
We are situated on the outskirts of Azay-le-Rideau, a beautiful village around the Chateau of the same name. The village provides all the necessities of life including great patisserie, cheeses and local produce. There are many restaurants and lively bars or, if you give us one day’s notice, you can choose to dine at home at La Jagée. We use only the produce of our area and are happy to cook it for you and accompany it with wines from our region.
If wine is your passion we can arrange tastings with some of the local suppliers to who will be happy to show you their range at the cellar door.
We can assist non-French speakers with restaurant bookings, tickets and taxis. Our library has books in English about the chateaux of the Loire and we can tell you about those we've visited to help you decide which of the many wonderful sites most interest you.
We are in a beautiful part of the wonderful Loire Valley. Azay-le-rideau is a 5 minute drive or a 20 minute leisurely stroll from La Jagée across the lovely Indre river. The village provides all the necessities of life and most of its luxuries. There are wine shops, restaurants and hand made soaps as well as the bakery, butcher shop and tea shop.
The Chateau is the major attraction and is truly one of the jewels of the valley. Publicly owned, it is open all year for visitors. The grounds are delightful and a wander through the secret garden, which is only open between April and November is an olfactory delight.
There are many other chateaux in the area both large and small, publicly and privately owned. The most notable close by are the beautiful gardens of Villandry (private), the wonderful mediaeval castle of Langeais (public), and the 'Sleeping Beauty castle" - Chateau D'Ussé (private). The other chateau in Azay-le-rideau is Chateau de l'slette (private), another small jewel.
For wine lovers we are located in a little bit of paradise. To our north is the fabulous region of Vouvray with excellent still and sparkling white wines. Closer is the red region of Bourgeuil and St Nicholas de Bourgeuil, making wonderful red wine from the native grape variety Cabernet Franc. There is also the magnificent Chinon appelation (a personal favorite) which includes the exquisitely beautiful town of the same name. There are also many smaller appellations to discover, among them the little known but excellent Azay-le-Rideau rosé and white wines.
You will also discover the sparkling wines of the region. All are made in the 'traditionelle' method, known worldwide as 'champenoise'. The difference between 'Cremant de Loire' and Champagne is the grape....and of course the price. We are sure you will find at least one or two to your taste.
