La Cour D'Honneur

The Court of Honor. This is a general term for the interior courtyard of a château or other large building or complex of buildings. I think. At any rate, St.-Aignan's château has a cour d'honneur that is open to the public. It's also the owner's parking lot.

The castle's main interior staircase in the renaissance wing.

The château itself forms most of the north border of the courtyard and wraps a little around the eastern side where a grand stair comes up from town. A very noticeable feature on the courtyard side of the château is the circular stair; it was modeled after a similar but more elaborate stair in the royal château in Blois, about twenty-two miles north of St.-Aignan.

A southeastern view with the octagonal tower on the right.

On the south side of the courtyard, there is an octagonal tower, a remnant of the earlier castle on the site, and stable buildings. Through the windows in the tower you can see some hunting trophies (read: stuffed heads and antlers) and other hunting paraphernalia.

A closer look at the octagonal tower.

On the western side of the courtyard, built onto the vestiges of the medieval ramparts, is a building that served as the servants' quarters and workshops. There is also the coach gate that leads out of the courtyard, past the gatehouse, and down a sweeping drive way to the town below.

The former servants' quarters against the medieval wall and round tower.

The best feature of the courtyard is that you get views not only of the town below, but of the river and valley beyond. There is a large terrace off the renaissance wing of the château that faces north overlooking the river. On clear days, the views are pretty nice, but we'll get to those later.

The doors of what I think are the old stables and carriage barn.