Château de Chaumont

The Ruggieri Room is called after a symbol on the mantelpiece that features the Greek letter delta – Diane's initial – and three circles or three full moons. This sculpture was first understood as a cabalistic sign of Ruggieri, one of Queen Catherine de Medici's astrologers. Still, it might be an evocation of Diane de Poitiers, as Diane is the Roman moon goddess. A late 17th-century bed with a suspended canopy, a Cosimo Ruggieri painting from the same era, and a cabinet with a single drawer, an apron, and a drop-leaf with a lock from the first quarter of the 17th century round out the room's furnishings.

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The Catherine de Medici chamber, previously a ceremonial bedroom, houses the Chaumont castle's oldest tapestry, produced in Tournai in the late 15th century (The Story of Perseus and Pegasus). A late 16th-century tapestry from the Manufacture des Flandres (The Story of David and Abigail), a full-length painting of Catherine de Medici (a 19th-century replica), a tapestry from the Manufacture des Flandres, and a unique Henri II-style bed from the 19th-century are also on show. The semi-relief carved mermaids that support the headboard of the canopy bed are topped by a female rider and a warrior.

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The de Broglie family imported superb 17th-century Majolica tiles for the council room from the Collutio Palace in Palermo, Sicily. A 16th-century table with pull-out leaves, a late 17th-century chimney from Château de Ménars (near Blois), and a portrait of Diane de Poitiers (19th century) complement the interior design of this chamber.

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The Planets and Days Tapestries, a masterwork of late 16th century woven tapestry, is now on display in the Council Chamber at Chaumont castle, after several years out of sight and one year under repair at the studios of the Royal Manufacturers De Wit in Belgium. Astrology is the fundamental topic that runs through these famous Planets and Days Tapestries. Each Roman mythological figure – one for each day of the week and planet – is sitting in a chariot, representing the movement of the stars. One or more Zodiac signs appear on the chariot's wheels, which are drawn by a real or imaginary animal associated with the god.

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The guard chamber above the Château porch is positioned in the tower-flanked entry. It houses a rare late 16th-century safe weighing over 250 kilogrammes, a late 17th-century tapestry depicting a scene in the life of Cimon (Athenian General), a collection of Ottoman weaponry (mantelpiece) from the 19th century given to the de Broglie family by the Maharajah of Kapurthala, and three paintings (The Road to Calvary from the 17th century, Extreme Unction and The Resurrection in the neo-primitive style from the 19th century).

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The King's Room, located in the Western entry tower, features polychrome décor on the wooden panelling and ceiling that is historicist in style – popular during the Romantic era – and dates back to 1830-1840. Documents and images illustrating life in the Château during the de Broglies' reign are periodically displayed in this area.

This chamber also houses seventy medallions and eight moulds created by the Italian artist Jean-Baptiste Nini in the 18th century. He painted portraits of many prominent personalities of his period, including Louis XV, Louis XVI, Marie-Antoinette, Benjamin Franklin, and all members of the Le Ray family, as well as more ordinary townspeople (doctor, solicitor, registrar).

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The grand spiral staircase demonstrates French painters' gradual incorporation of Italian style about 1500: three-foiled Gothic motifs give place to Renaissance foliage and Italianising arabesques decorating the column shafts. The windows are adorned with stained glass depicting heraldic themes (coats of arms) of the several families that have held Chaumont.

This stairway connects to several empty and freshly reopened portions of the Château dedicated to modern art, including Princess Henri-Amédée de Broglie's old bedroom, which is now an art exhibition.

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From May through early November, the Domaine du Château de Chaumont-sur-Loire hosts the 'Festival International des Jardins de Chaumont Sur Loire,' commonly known as the International Festival of Gardens. Every year, the festival has a new theme, with different notable gardeners from around the world creating their unique creations for the event, attracting 350,000 people each year. The 31st International Garden Festival will take place this year from April 21 to November 6, 2022, and will be themed 'Ideal Garden.' This year, the designers will wow guests by displaying their creativity on 30 stunning gardens that are also organic, comfortable, therapeutic, creative, and cost-effective.

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The petit-duc: Princess Henri-Amédée de Broglie hired the carriage-makers Belvalette to build this lady's "petit-duc," a roofless vehicle with a low open body intended for soaking up city air. The owner of the vehicle, who sat in a seat behind the body with space for one or two servants but no coachman's seat, operated the vehicle directly from within.

The vis-à-vis: This lightweight promenade carriage was created by the Dosme brothers. It had a lowered footwell and two wickerwork seats that could hold two pairs of people facing one other (carriage-makers based in Blois). The Broglie family and their visitors used it for hunting, camping, and picnics, and it had a wicker box in the back.

The Landau: Princess de Broglie frequently travelled to Paris for shopping and to see plays at the Opéra Garnier on this landau, which Mühlbacher (Napoleon III's preferred royal carriage-maker), had commissioned. The decreased footwell of the two-door car had a pair of leather toppers that extended from the footwell level and latched together above the doors.

The Omnibus: The Château Omnibus, a breathtakingly sumptuous coach, was designed by Mühlbacher. In addition to attending hunting events and horse races, the omnibus, drawn by four horses or three at a time, was used to transport luggage and passengers between the château and the nearest railway station in Onzain.

The Great Stable is divided into several areas, including a hall, carriage house, indoor riding arena, purebred boxes, working and gala saddleries, carriage horse stalls, and pony stalls. The inside layout of the building hasn't altered since it was built in 1877 and has stalls, cartouches with the names of the horses engraved on them, benches, managers and drinking troughs made of cast iron with multicoloured enamelled plaques on them, brass balls and hooks, and arc lighting. To prevent horses from harming their flanks, wooden partitions are covered with brush matting. On the stable wall, a panel of instructions enclosed in a carved wooden frame lists the groom's and the stable boys' responsibilities for each hour of the day.