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Château de Chenonceau
Everywhere in the castle were huge bouquets of wonderfully arranged flowers. They give the castle a royal touch :-) -
Château de Chambord
The residences of François Ier include a large wardrobe and closet. They surely dressed ... royally. -
Château de Chambord
Wallpaper in the 18th century apartments. -
Château de Chambord
My kids were fascinated by the 'minecraft trees'. -
Château de Chambord
View of the castle from the road. -
Château de Chenonceau
La tour des Marques The only remaining (and renovated) part of the medieval castle owned by the Marques family. -
Château de Chenonceau
View of the castle from the gardens of Catherine de Médicis. -
Château de Chenonceau
Such a wonderful lavender. -
Château de Chenonceau
The avenue leading to the castle. Great shade in the summer heat. -
Château de Chambord
Chambord is the largest château in the Loire Valley. Built in 1519–1547 as a hunting lodge for François Ier. A hunting lodge! -
Château de Chambord
The residence of François Ier, built between 1539 and 1545. This is how the rooms looked like when the king came to stay. Super cosy. -
Château de Chambord
The view of the French gardens. Louis XIV had a similar view from his bedroom. Not bad. -
Fougères
Now THIS is a castle. Built from 12th to 15th century, it occupies an area of two hectares. -
Le Fort du Guesclin
As everything in Brittany, this place is also full of history. Romans, destroyed, fortress in 800s, destroyed, fortified castle built by Bertrand du Guesclin in 1100, destroyed in 1598, this one built in 1756... -
Château de Montfort
There are numerous castles along Dordogne. The Montfort castle was first destroyed in 1214. And three more times. So far. -
Château de Beynac
The castle was built in the 12th century by the barons of Beynac, and later remodelled and enlarged. -
La Roque-Gageac
Oh, another spectacular village. -
La Roque-Gageac
A truly spectacular village. -
La Roque-Gageac
Le manoir de Tarde from the 15th century. -
Dordogne river
Climbing the exposed stairs might be scary for some. For me it was just insanely hot. But the views are rewarding. -
Dordogne river
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Dordogne river
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Le fort de la Roque-Gageac
What an interesting curtain. And one of the modern pillars, keeping the fort stable. There were way too many collapses in recent past. -
Château de Montfort
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Rocamadour
Another fascinating place: Rocamadour. -
Rocamadour
One could go down the stairs. And up the stairs again. Or not. -
Rocamadour
Spectacular place. Already inhabited in the Paleolithic. The town peaked in the 12th century. 12th century!