Chateau de Valencay in Berry near the Loire was the home of Talleyrand and served as state guesthouse during the reign of Napoleon Bonaparte. Chateau de Valencay is an impressive palace with marvelous formal gardens, a large nature park, a maze, animals, and play areas for children. Valencay served as state guesthouse during the times … Read more
The Renaissance Château de Villandry is mostly visited for its magnificent ornamental gardens – famously using vegetables for colorful formal displays. Renaissance Château de Villandry near Tours in the Loire Valley is famous for its exceptional formal gardens. The ornamental kitchen garden of Villandry, where vegetables are planted to form a magnificently colorful ornamental garden, … Read more
Getting to Château de Chambord is easiest by car but buses and especially day-trip excursions to various chateaux in the Loire valley are also available. Château de Chambord is the largest castle in the Loire region of France. As a hunting lodge, Chambord was in a forest and as this forest mostly survived as a … Read more
Leonardo da Vinci spent his final three years in Amboise in a chateau now housing a museum with models of his designs. Château du Clos Lucé is a relatively small 15th-century palace in the Loire town Amboise. The chateau was the childhood home of King Francis I but much more famously the palace where Leonardo … Read more
Schloss Spiez is an interesting historic castle beautifully located on the shores of the Thunersee near Bern and Interlaken in Switzerland. Castle Spiez is a small romantic castle with lovely gardens, a fine Romanesque church, and spectacular views of Lake Thun and Alpine peaks of the Berner (Bernese) Oberland region of Switzerland. The castle has … Read more
Schloss Oberhofen is a postcard-perfect historic castle with a toe in the water of the lovely Thunersee near Bern in Switzerland. Oberhofen Castle, directly on the shores of Lake Thun, is a popular subject for postcards and tourist brochures advertising the beauty of Switzerland. This historic castle even has a small, much-photographed tower inside the … Read more
Driving is the best option for most visitors to Château de Chenonceau but public transportation and day-trip tours are alternatives. Getting to Château de Chenonceau on the Cher River in the Loire region of France is easiest by car but public transportation is also available with trains arriving from Tours and Bourges. Cycling is an … Read more