Le Bon Laboureur Hôtel, Chenanceaux, France
We decided to stay in Chenanceau on our trip to the Loire valley and chose Le Bon Labourer primarily because they have a very good restaurant that has a Michelin star. The town of Chenanceaux has a different spelling than the château due to Louise Dupin de Francueil, owner of the chateau during the French Revolution, who is said to have dropped the “x” at the end of its name to differentiate what was a symbol of royalty from the Republic. As a result of her good relations with the village, the Château was spared the iconoclastic damage suffered by many other monuments during the Revolution. The population of permanent residents hovers about 400, as of 2012, but there is a large influx of tourists during the summer months, because the village adjoins the former royal Château de Chenonceau, one of the most popular tourist destinations in France.