10 Most Beautiful Castles in the Loire Valley

If you love chasing castles, one of the places that will quench your thirst, is the Loire Valley in France. Literally dotted with more than hundred chateaux, castles and fortresses, the Loire Valley between Sully-sur-Loire and Chalonne has been enlisted as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The castles in the Loire Valley come with stunning gardens, beautiful parks, and should be on your bucket list when traveling to Europe.

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Why there are so many castles in the Loire Valley?

Through the centuries the Loire has been an important commercial and communication axis which made the area prosper and grow. Towns, fortifications and castles sprung along the river and in the 15th through the 16th centuries, the Loire Valley became a focal point of foreign influences from the Italian Mediterranean and Flanders. It was there where garden art emerged, as well as interest in landscaping.

The Loire Valley became a seat of royal power and lots of castles like those in Chambord, Chenonceau, Amboise, Blois and Azay-le-Rideau, served as home for the kings and queens of France. Sometimes the Loire Valley is referred to as the Valley of the Kings (La Vallée des Rois).

The Renaissance saw the peak of the role of the Loire Valley within the Kingdom of France, from Charles VII and Louis XI, who made Tours the capital, until Henri IV who brought it back to Paris in 1594, at the end of the Wars of Religion.

How to visit the Loire Valley Chateaux?

You can visit one or two castles or you can try to visit as many as possible. I did the later. It all depends on the time you have, but you can’t visit France without visiting at least one of its castles along the Loire.

If you are staying in Paris there are tours out of the French capital that include one, two, or even three Loire Valley castles in a day trip. If you wish you can combine this with a wine tasting which will make your French experience complete and would be my favorite option. Here’s a small selection of day tours from Paris to the chateaux in the Loire Valley:

• Loire Valley Castles Day Trip With Wine Tasting – Château de Chambord, Château de Chenonceau, wine tasting in Château de Chenonceau and a stop in Blois, where you can visit the Château de Blois on your own if you want.
• Full-Day Loire Valley Chateaux Tour – Châteaux de Chambord/Amboise, Châteaux de Chenonceau, and Châteaux de Cheverny – amazing combination of let’s say crème de la crème of French chateaux.
• Loire Valley Castles Full-Day Tour with Lunch – Châteaux de Chambord, Châteaux de Amboise, Châteaux de Chenonceau, a small group tour that includes a lunch

Another option to visit the castles in the Loire Valley would be to make a road trip. The area is amazing, so you can travel from place to place visiting as many castles as possible. I would say that in 2 weeks you can probably visit about 20-25 castles.

Instead of doing a road trip you can choose to stay in the middle of the Loire Valley and take day trips to as many castles as you wish. This is what I did. I stayed in Montrichard and visited all those castles on day trips.

If you are planning to visit more than one castle, you can save up to 20 % on the entry ticket price by buying one of the castle passes, that will give you access to 3 castles:

• Leonardo da Vinci Loire Valley Pass – Château du Clos Lucé, Château d’Amboise, and Château de Chambord
• Loire Valley Châteaux Pass – Château de Chambord, Château de Chenonceau, and Royal Château de Blois
• Touraine Châteaux Pass – Château d’Azay-le-Rideau, Château de Villandry, and Royal Fortress of Chinon

The best chateaux in the Loire Valley

1. Château de Chenonceau

One of the most romantic castles in the Loire Valley is the Chenonceau Castle (Château de Chenonceau). Called the Ladies’ Château, as it was designed and owned only by women, the castle is a beautiful example of the French Renaissance architecture.

The castle gardens are manicured to perfection and only emphasize the romantic beauty of the castle that spans over the river Cher.

One of my highlights when visiting the château was the colorful vegetable and flower garden, and I loved the walled Russel Page Garden. Although a bit touristy, as it’s the 2^nd most visited castle in France after the Versailles, the Chenonceau Castle is absolutely worth the visit and lives up to its fame as one of the most beautiful castles in the Loire Valley.

2. Château du Clos Lucé

Did you know that Leonardo da Vinci spent the last 3 years of his life in France? He was buried in the Chapel of Florentin, which does not exist anymore, at the Château d’Amboise, but he lived in Clos Lucé, a manor house just a stone’s throw from the royal castle in Amboise.

Leonardo came in France in 1516 upon invitation of King Francis I of France. He was supposed to design a new city that should become the seat of the kings of France. Well, as history shows this remained only a dream.

It was quite fascinating to walk in the park where Leonardo has walked and to see how his atelier would have looked like. By the way, Clos Lucé is the only house where he had lived, that has survived till the present day. My favorite part about the castle was its Renaissance garden with plants that we can find in Leonardo’s paintings.

3. Château d’Amboise

Standing proudly on a small ridge above Loire and overlooking the beautiful landscape of the Loire Valley and the city of Amboise is the Royal Castle of Amboise (Château royal d’Amboise). The castle went through many metamorphoses from the Middle Ages, when the first defending structure was built above Loire through the later century when it grew to an important fortress and and a favorite royal castle.

Château d’Amboise reached its peak in the 15th and the 16th centuries when Charles VIII made the castle a royal residence. However towards the end of the 16th century the castle declined and in the 17th century it was completely abandoned.

The Castle of Amboise is mostly famous because of Lonardo da Vinci’s tomb. Leonardo was buried at the Chapel of St. Florentine, which was demolished in 19th century. It is presumed that the remains of Leonardo were reburied at the nearby Chapel of St Hubert. There was a DNA research going on to ascertain whether these were his remains. Whatever the results are, one thing is for sure, Leonardo da Vinci was buried at the Castle of Amboise.

For the most stunning views of the castle you need to walk to the islet on the Loire – Île d’Or. Get a drink at Le Shaker at 3 Quai François Tissard and just enjoy the view.

4. Château-Gaillard

How many castles are too many? Amboise, although being of a modest size, prides in 3 castles! After Clos Lucé and the Royal Castle, the third castle that you can visit in Amboise is Château-Gaillard. It’s also known as the most Italian among all castles in France, and I have to admit there’s quite a lot of Italian allure in the chateau. By far, its’ also my favorite castle in the Loire Valley.

The chateau was built upon return of Charles VIII from the Italian war at the of the 15th century and has a lot of Italian influences. The garden of the chateau was designed by the famous Italian Renaissance gardener Don Pacello – Pacello da Mercogliano, who is considered the father of the beautifully manicured French gardens.

Château-Gaillard is also famous for being the first place in France where orange and lemon trees were grown. Today oranges are still grown there and you can buy homemade orange marmalade, which is absolutely yam.

Another interesting fact about the chateau is that Mary, Queen of Scots, spent 3 weeks of honeymoon at the castle after her marriage with Francis II of France. You can visit there the beautifully restored bedroom of Mary Stuart.

5. Château de Chaumont

Château de Chaumont is a gorgeous castle in the Loire Valley with even more gorgeous gardens. The castle was founded in the 10th century, destroyed in the 15th century and rebuilt again in the 15th century by Charles I d’Amboise.

In the 16th century the castle was owned by Catherine de’ Medici, who later exchanged it for Château de Chenonceau with the mistress of her late husband Henry II, Diane de Poitiers. A famous guuest during the time of Medici was the astrologer Nostradamus.

The Stable of the chateau, built in the 19th century were considered the most luxurious at the time, featuring even harnesses made by Hermès. Today, at the Stables you can admire some beautiful art installations.

What I mostly loved about this chateau, is the International Garden Festival. This festival ahs been held since 1992 transforming the grounds of the castle’s domain in little oases with various gardening designs, showcasing new flower arrangements, new materials, new ideas and new approaches to gardening.

6. Château de Villandry

Château de Villandry has the most impressive gardens of all castles in the Loire Valley. The chateau itself was built in the 16th century at the place of a medieval keep from the 11th century, the Colombiers fortress. Michel-Ange de Castellane acquired the castle in the 18th century and laid the foundations of the beautiful French gardens.

Turbulent times followed and the castle changed owners quite often in the following century, even being owned by Napoleon’s bother Jérôme Bonaparte. At the beginning of the 20th century the Villandry Castle was bought by Joachim Carvallo and Ann Coleman, who did their best to restore it to its Renaissance glory. It’;’s thanks to these two that the gardens of Villandry have their present look.

You can admire the Love Garden, the Garden of the Crosses, the Water Garden, the Sun Garden, the Herb Garden, and the Ornamental Kitchen Garden. All in all visiting Château de Villandry is an amazing experience, that will leave you stunned by the the beauty of the gardens and the park.

7. Château de Montrésor

Montrésor is a small village in the Loire Valley, included on the list of the Most Beautiful Villages in France. Although quite petite, Montrésor has its very own castle.

The castle has a longstanding history, first built around 1005 and later enlarged in the 15th century. After the French Revolution the castle decline and in 1849 the Polish nobleman in exile Count Xavier Branicki bought the castle of Montrésor and restored it. He also became the mayor of Montrésor. He was known as a philanthropist, a political writer, and a banker.

For the best views of the Château de Montrésor take a walk along the Indrois (a small tributary to the Loire).

8. Château de Loches

Château de Loches dominates the cityscape of the medieval town of Loches, also called the Royal City of Loches. The castle emerged around an 11th-century keep built by Foulques III Nerra, Count of Anjou.

In the 12^th century Richard the Lionheart captured the castle, but Philip II got it back at the beginning of the 13^th century. It was at the Castle of Loches where Joan of Arc met Charles VII in 1429 after the famous victory in Orléans.

You can get lovely views of the Castle of Loches from the public garden, a true hidden gem in Loches.

9. Château de Montrichard

Château de Montrichard might not be strictly one of the most beautiful chateaux in the Loire Valley, but it for sure offers one of the most beautiful views in the area. As I’ve spent 2 weeks in Montrichard, discovering all these other gorgeous Loire castles, I felt I have to honor the local castle and include it on this list.

The fortress of Montrichard started as a keep built in the 11th century by Foulques Nerra, Count of Anjou, and it quite resemble the keep of the Castle of Loches. The castle was further enlarged and rebuilt in the 12th century. However in the in the 16th century the glory of the castle came to an end when Henry IV ordered its demolition.

Today, the keep of the castle is undergoing an extensive restauration and the rest is just ruins. However there are a couple of museums on the grounds of the castle, that can be visited, the Archeological Museum and the Ethnological Museum. From the castle there’s this magnificent view of the Valley of the Le Cher River and the town of Montrichard Val de Cher.

10. Château Royal de Blois

The Royal Castle of Blois (Château Royal de Blois) is located in the heart of the city of Blois on the Loire River and it’s one of the most famous castles along the Loire in France.

The first castle in Blois was built somewhere in the 9th century and further enlarged and fortified until the 14th century when it ended in the hands of the House of Orléans. The Castle of Blois became one of the favorite chateaux of the French kings in the centuries to follow. 7 kings and 10 queens called the castle their home.

King Francis I built in the castle a library for his wife, Claude of France, which after her death was moved to the Château of Fontainebleau. It is this library that laid the foundations of the National Library of France (Bibliothèque nationale de France).

In the summer months the castle becomes the canvas for Light and Sound Show, when visual arts are married with beautiful architecture, celebrating the history of the castle.