Theme Week Chateaux of the Loire Valley – Château de Chenonceau

20 January 2015 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Architecture, Palaces, Castles, Manors, Parks, UNESCO World Heritage Reading Time:  8 minutes

Aerial view © Lieven Smits

Aerial view © Lieven Smits

The Château de Chenonceau is a manor house near the small village of Chenonceaux, in the Indre-et-Loire département of the Loire Valley in France. It was built on the site of an old mill on the River Cher, sometime before its first mention in writing in the 11th century. The current manor was designed by the French Renaissance architect Philibert Delorme.   read more…

Theme Week Chateaux of the Loire Valley – Château de Blois

24 June 2011 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Architecture, Palaces, Castles, Manors, Parks, UNESCO World Heritage Reading Time:  6 minutes

Château de Blois - Panorama of the interior façades - Classic, Renaissance and Gothic styles © Tango7174

Château de Blois – Panorama of the interior façades – Classic, Renaissance and Gothic styles © Tango7174

The Royal Château de Blois is located in the Loir-et-Cher département in the Loire Valley, in France, in the center of the city of Blois. The residence of several French kings, it is also the place where Joan of Arc went in 1429 to be blessed by the Archbishop of Reims before departing with her army to drive the English from Orléans.   read more…

Theme Week Chateaux of the Loire Valley – Château de Chaumont-sur-Loire

23 June 2011 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Architecture, Palaces, Castles, Manors, Parks, UNESCO World Heritage Reading Time:  7 minutes

© Peter Dutton

© Peter Dutton

The Château de Chaumont is a French castle at Chaumont-sur-Loire in Loir-et-Cher.   read more…

Theme Week Chateaux of the Loire Valley – Château d’Amboise

22 June 2011 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Architecture, Palaces, Castles, Manors, Parks, UNESCO World Heritage Reading Time:  8 minutes

Aerial view © Lieven Smits

Aerial view © Lieven Smits

The royal Château at Amboise is a château located in Amboise, in the Indre-et-Loire département of the Loire Valley in France. Built on a promontory overlooking the Loire River to control a strategic ford that was replaced in the Middle Ages by a bridge and the château began its life in the eleventh century, when the notorious Fulk Nerra, Count of Anjou, rebuilt the stronghold in stone.   read more…

Theme Week Chateaux of the Loire Valley – Château de Chambord

21 June 2011 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Architecture, Palaces, Castles, Manors, Parks, UNESCO World Heritage Reading Time:  8 minutes

Aerial view © Lieven Smits

Aerial view © Lieven Smits

The royal Château de Chambord at Chambord, Loir-et-Cher, France is one of the most recognizable châteaux in the world because of its very distinct French Renaissance architecture which blends traditional French medieval forms with classical Italian structures.   read more…

Theme Week Chateaux of the Loire Valley

20 June 2011 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Architecture, Bon voyage, Palaces, Castles, Manors, Parks, Theme Weeks, UNESCO World Heritage Reading Time:  7 minutes

Châteaux of the Loire Valley © Maximilian Dörrbecker

Châteaux of the Loire Valley © Maximilian Dörrbecker

The Loire Valley (French: Vallée de la Loire), spanning 280 kilometres (170 mi), is located in the middle stretch of the Loire River in central France. It comprises an area of approximately 800 square kilometres (310 sq mi). It is referred to as the Cradle of the French Language, and the Garden of France due to the abundance of vineyards, fruit orchards, artichoke, asparagus and cherry fields which line the banks of the river. Notable for its historic towns, architecture and wines, the valley has been inhabited since the Middle Palaeolithic period.   read more…

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