Departure by train from Paris. First stop: Chaumont-sur-Loire, home of the prestigious Festival des Jardins.

Once you’ve arrived at Chaumont-sur-Loire, you’ll find yourself plunged into the heart of botanical wonder. The Festival des Jardins unfurls its treasures, offering an explosion of color, fragrance and creativity. A guided tour will take you on an enchanted journey where each tableau reveals a unique universe, an invitation to contemplation and reverie.

After this floral immersion, the journey continues to Amboise, where lunch will be served. On a private tour, we’ll have the privilege of wandering through the majestic Château d’Amboise, embracing its rooms steeped in history, strolling through its winding gardens, and letting ourselves be transported back to the era of kings and queens.

To crown this exceptional day, a cocktail reception awaits you in a sumptuous château venue.

8 pm, Château d’Amboise:

LISE NOUGIER RECITAL

Lise Nougier: Soprano

Gaspard Schlich: Guitar

Soprano Lise Nougier, a recent graduate of the Académie de l’Opéra national de Paris, grew up with a taste for French variété and chanson à texte, capturing humanity at its very core. Guitarist Gaspard Schlich, for his part, likes to explore improvised and traditional music, particularly in the spontaneity it conveys. Together, they reveal themselves in a program of “Latin Conversations“, echoing the more serious discussions that once took place in the Council Chamber. French, Italian and Spanish will serve as guides for this precious popular musical journey spanning nearly three centuries, in the intimacy of the duo.

This day of botanical escapism and historical exploration will be remembered as a journey in which every moment was an enchantment for the senses and the spirit.

Overnight in Amboise.

This day, the Château de Valmer – a small masterpiece of the Italian Renaissance whose first layout dates back to 1525 – awaits us. Nestled in the heart of the Loire Valley vineyards, this architectural gem opens its doors to you for an immersion in the art of French living. Discover its formal gardens, lush vineyards and a history rich in anecdotes and legends.

After this enchanting escapade, the journey continues to Tours, a dynamic city with a rich cultural heritage. Here, you’ll have the opportunity to immerse yourself in the fascinating world of the Musée du Compagnonnage. Explore the ancestral traditions of the Compagnons du devoir, renowned craftsmen and builders, through a unique collection of tools, works of art and authentic testimonials. In this museum, each piece tells a story, each artifact bears witness to the know-how and passion of the journeymen.

We continue in this world where craftsmanship and the transmission of knowledge occupy a predominant place, with a visit to Pascal Rieu’s Atelier du Vitrail, where every gesture is imbued with tradition and excellence. Originally a graphic designer, this artist has the soul of a painter and masters the classicism of technique, putting it at the service of his romantic and creative spirit. His style combines the powerful sobriety of visuals with the gentleness of detail, taming colors so that light and shadow govern them.

This day offers you a journey through the centuries, between the splendor of castles and the authenticity of craftsmanship. A total immersion in the region’s cultural and craft heritage, where every encounter and every discovery leaves an indelible mark. We’ll end this journey through time with music.

8pm, Grand Théâtre de Tours:

AGITATA. ITALIAN OPERA ARIAS FROM THE TIME OF VIVALDI

Ensemble Concerto de’ Cavalieri

Marcello di Lisa: Conductor

Samuel Mariño: Countertenor

Samuel Mariño is one of today’s most fervent exponents of the soprano tessitura, capable of brilliantly substituting from one aria to the next the hat of transvestite roles sung by women for the status of prima donna. Italian lyric music of the 18th century was a matter of geographical crossroads for composers, from Vivaldi the Venetian (but also in demand in Verona and Milan), to Caldara who left the Serenissima for Vienna, to Scarlatti, the leader of the Neapolitan school between two long stays in Rome. This program, concocted with Marcello Di Lisa and his ensemble Concerto de’ Cavalieri (on period instruments), will weave all these Italian links.

This morning, we’re off to discover the Domaine de Candé and its treasures. A fascinating museographic tour takes us back to the scene of this crime of lèse-majesté (the ex-king’s marriage to an American divorcee, which provoked the ire of the British royal family). Silk drapes, Cordovan leathers, heavy curtains, creaky floors… the decor has remained unchanged, much to our delight.

In Vouvray, a light lunch of local specialties is served in a carved troglodyte cellar. Frédéric and his son Benjamin, the third and fourth generations of winemakers to work the 26 hectares of Domaine Bourillon Dorléans, are committed to perpetuating the traditional spirit and quality of their highly individual Vouvray wines. The estate extends over a variety of terroirs, both clay-limestone and clay-silica, and is one of the best in the Vouvray appellation.

The afternoon will be at leisure, before an evening of gentle Argentinean notes.

8pm, Grand Théâtre de Tours:

ALFONSINA. CANCIONES ARGENTINAS

Mariana Flores: Soprano

Quito Gato: Piano, arrangements

Romain Lécuyer: Double bass

Mariana Flores is well known for her chiselled mastery of the Baroque repertoire, but the popular songs of her native Argentina are another string to her vocal bow. What better time than October, the time when spring blooms in the southern hemisphere, to capture the sweetness of life at the foot of the Andes, the conviviality of a feria or the magnetic rhythm of Buenos Aires? The soprano’s voice, intensely committed to the transmission of letters and climates, acquires a universal dimension alongside Quito Gato‘s piano and guitar, and Romain Lécuyer‘s double bass.

Our journey through time in the Loire Valley ends in Tours. This mild autumn morning allows us to stroll through the collections of the city’s Musée des Beaux-Arts, enjoy its gardens before visiting the Cathédrale Saint-Gatien, the cloister and the Basilique.

After a final light lunch in Vieux Tours, we close the Festival with the work of Charpentier (1686-1687).

At 3 p.m. at the Grand Théâtre de Tours:

LA DESCENTE D’ORPHÉE AUX ENFERS, by M.A. Charpentier

Ensemble Jacques Moderne

Joël Suhubiette: Musical Direction

An inexhaustible source of inspiration for opera, the myth of Orpheus had to wait until the time of Charpentier for the French operatic world to seize upon it. The composer first adapted it as a short cantata, then set to work on the chamber opera La Descente d’Orphée aux Enfers, in which the wedding of Orpheus and Eurydice is interrupted when the bride is bitten by a snake. Orpheus, convinced by his father Apollo to fetch his sweetheart from the Underworld, manages to negotiate with Pluto for her release. The manuscript, probably incomplete, ends here, before the fateful moment when Eurydice turns… Under the baton of its musical director, Ensemble Jacques Moderne offers an alternative ending.

Transfer to Tours train station and return to Paris in the late afternoon.