Château de Chenonceau
The Renaissance “Ladies’ Château” spanning the River Cher.
Chenonceau was built between 1514 and 1522 by Thomas Bohier and his wife Katherine Briçonnet on the foundations of an old mill on the River Cher. Henry II later gave it to Diane de Poitiers, who had Philibert de l'Orme build a bridge across the river. After Henry's death, Catherine de' Medici took the château and added the two-storey gallery that now spans the water.
Often called the Château des Dames because a succession of women shaped its history, it later hosted Louise Dupin's Enlightenment salon, served as a hospital ward during the First World War, and sat on the demarcation line during the Second. Owned by the Menier family since 1913, it is one of the most visited châteaux in France, famous for its reflection in the Cher and its formal gardens.
Highlights
- Gallery spanning the River Cher
- Gardens of Diane de Poitiers and Catherine de' Medici
- Renaissance rooms with tapestries and old master paintings
- Maze and 16th-century farm
![Afrique occidentale française : Cathédrale à St Louis / [photogr. Eugène] Gallois ; [photogr. reprod. par Radiguet et Massiot pour la conférence donnée par] Gallois](https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0a/Afrique_occidentale_fran%C3%A7aise_-_Cath%C3%A9drale_%C3%A0_St_Louis_-_%28photogr._Eug%C3%A8ne%29_Gallois_%3B_%28photogr._reprod._par_Radiguet_et_Massiot_pour_la_conf%C3%A9rence_donn%C3%A9e_par%29_Gallois_-_btv1b532798828.jpg/500px-thumbnail.jpg)
![[Golestan, Le Salon et Fete de l'equinode, Teheran, Iran (le Pavillion du Trone)]](https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/33/-Golestan%2C_Le_Salon_et_Fete_de_l%27equinode%2C_Teheran%2C_Iran_%28le_Pavillion_du_Trone%29-_MET_DP202918.jpg/500px--Golestan%2C_Le_Salon_et_Fete_de_l%27equinode%2C_Teheran%2C_Iran_%28le_Pavillion_du_Trone%29-_MET_DP202918.jpg)
![Théâtre de la guerre dans l'Inde sur la coste de Coromandel / par M.B.C.T. [Monsieur Bourcet Capitaine ?] ; gravé par Croisey](https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/99/Fort_de_Calicuta_-_btv1b59706294.jpg/500px-Fort_de_Calicuta_-_btv1b59706294.jpg)
