Châteaux of France

Located in the heart of Touraine, along the Loire River, Amboise is overlooked by a plateau which hosts the imposing Chateau d'Amboise. Before being taken by the crown in 1434, the chateau was owned by the powerful Amboise Family. An ancient medieval fortress, the chateau became the royal residence during the Renaissance under the reign of Louis the 11th, Charles VIII and Francis I.

Completed near 1536, Villandry is the last of the great chateaux built along the Loire River during the Renaissance. Held by the same family since 1906, the domain of Villandry is a chateau that cleverly associates stone work and the art of gardening. During the 18th century, the owner decided to operate a number of changes on the chateau. The changes to the interior date back to that century.

Alongside Blois and Chambord, Cheverny is one of the Loire valley's most famous chateaux. Lending its traits to Marlinspike, Captain Haddock's chateau, it is known to have inspired the cartoonist Hergé. The chateau of Cheverny, built during the first half of the 17th century, has been in the Hurault family for 600 years.

The Chateau Royal in Blois was the French Kings' favorite residence during the Renaissance. Under Louis XII, Charles d'Orléans son, the Chateau de Blois became a royal residence and the sovereign's main dwelling. Built over several periods, the Chateau Royal de Blois has captured different styles, from the Gothic to the Classical, the Renaissance to the Middle-Age.

Vaux-le-Vicomte is the castle that inspired Versailles. A product of the ambition of Nicolas Fouquet, the financial advisor of King Louis XIV, the construction of Vaux-le-Vicomte was entrusted to the greatest artists of the Kingdom: Louis Le Vau, the Kings chief architect, Charles le Brun, founder of the Academie de Peinture, and André La Nôtre, the Royal landscape artist.

The Chateau of Chantilly stands in the heart of a 7,800hectare domain located in one of the largest forests surrounding Paris. Built during the Middle Ages among the marshes of the Nonette valley, the Chantilly castle is the result of the constructions and additions of succeeding families. It is mainly the Montmorency family who arranged the chateau to give it its pleasantness and agreeable aspect