Château de Chenonceau

Chenonceaux

Built from 1513 by Katherine Briçonnet on the foundations of a fortified mill spanning the Cher, the Château de Chenonceau was given in 1547 by Henri II to his favourite, Diane de Poitiers, who had the five-arched bridge thrown across the river. On the king's death in 1559, Catherine de Médicis forced Diane to trade it for the Château de Chaumont, and between 1576 and 1585 had the two-storey gallery built to extend the bridge over the water. In 1589, after the assassination of Henri III, his widow Louise de Lorraine retired to Chenonceau: following the custom of royal mourning in white, she spent eleven years there dressed entirely in white, earning her chamber — decorated with crosses and black tears in tribute to the dead king — the name 'the White Queen's Room.' Owned by the Menier family since 1913, the 'château of the ladies' remains one of the most visited monuments of the Loire Valley, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Getting there : Open year-round, paid entry; Chenonceaux train station 400 m away; free parking at the entrance to the grounds.

Opening times and access details are given as a guide only: check before you set out.

Ambient sound