Chateau de Chenonceau is known as the women’s castle. It was a woman after all, Catherine Bohier, wife of the Receiver General of Finances who directed the construction during the absence of her husband (who had gone to war). It was completed in 1522 but in 1526 was seized by King François I. His successor, Henri II, then offered it to his mistress Diane de Poitiers who settled there before they officially...

Perched on top of a hill, Chateaudun looks like it was drawn by children. It was built for height so that the occupants could overlook the entire Loire Valley. But also, perhaps, because the initiator of its construction, Jean of Dunois (the companion of Joan of Arc who died in 1468), a natural child of Louis of Orleans, wanted to sit by this aspect its legitimacy. Today the castle offers a view of about thirty...

Chateau de Chambord is the most known castle and perhaps the most impressive of the Chateaux (castles) of the Loire Valley. From a distance it looks like a medieval fortress, but the refinement of its frontages, the subtlety of its detailing make of it one of the most beautiful expressions of the Renaissance architecture in France. It was François I who ordered its construction in 1519 but its immense dimensions...