- Château de Chenonceau
16th century door leading into Salle des gardes, saying: "S'il vient à point, me souviendra". Basically - if I ever finish building this castle, I will be remembered. But I forgot who wrote it :-) - Château de Chenonceau
Lions on a 16th century Flemish tapestry. Their faces seem somewhat off. - Château de Chenonceau
The butchery. Of course the castle had its own butchery, right above the water and separated from the rest of the kitchen. - Château de Chenonceau
Every room had its own fireplace, making the castle rather cosy. This is a detail on the fireplace in Chambre de François Ier. - Château de Chenonceau
Diane de Poitiers as Diana the Huntress by Le Primatice from 1556. Diana was the mistress of King Henry II and, among other things, expanded the castle across the river and built some gardens. - Château de Chenonceau
What a wonderfully morbid room. Morticia would like it here :-) - Château de Chenonceau
The classical view of the castle. Built in 1514-1522 on the foundations of an old mill, the bridge was added in 1556-1559 and the gallery in 1570-1576. - Château de Chenonceau
Royal pharmacy - Château de Chambord
A very symmetric Renaissance castle. Sorry, hunting lodge. - Château de Chambord
Royal oratory of François Ier has a wonderful vaulted ceiling. There is the letter F (for François Ier) and the salamanders extinguishing "bad" fire. - Château de Chambord
The residences of François Ier include a large wardrobe and closet. They surely dressed ... royally. - Château de Chambord
A bronze bust of Maréchal Turenne, a 19th century copy of a 1695 Jérôme Derbais statue. What a man. - Château de Chambord
Wallpaper in the 18th century apartments. - Château de Chambord
The vaulted ceilings in the 2nd floor: F as the initials of François Ier and plenty of salamanders, some eating the good fire and others putting out the bad fire. Just don't know which are which. - Château de Chambord
Lapidary deposit. Some original carvings of F, with a crown and plenty of ropes. Now imagine a gigantic castle full of such beauty! Sorry, hunting lodge. - Château de Chambord
My kids were fascinated by the 'minecraft trees'. - Château de Chambord
View of the castle from the road. - Il Castello di Perchia
Super lovely renovated castle/hotel. - Simena - Kaleköy
With a Byzantine castle. The town can be reached only by boat (or foot). - Portoferraio
Linguella Museum of Archeology in the Medicean Fortress - LIguella Museum, Portoferraio
Remains of a Roman villa. - Portoferraio
- Palace of Holyroodhouse
The official Scottish residence of British monarchs since the 16th century, including Mary, Queen of Scots and James VI and I. - DSC 6562
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- Fort du Mont Alban
Built around 1560s. - Rocca Minore
- Rocca Maggiore
Built in 1316. - View of Spoleto
- Giro dei Condotti
A wonderful walking path with views of the town, the castle and Ponte delle torri. - Castelo dos Mouros
The 10th century castle was built by the Moors. - Castelo dos Mouros
- Cascais
Not quite sure what to think of this place. Diverse or messy? Eclectic or mismatched? This certainly was a wonderful place. Now - not so much. - The fortified monastery
Built in the 11th century and being rebuilt now. - Alhambra palace
View of Alhambra from Mirador de San Nicolás. At sunset, as it should be. - Mexuar
Tiles on the wall of the Mexuar Council Hall, which served as the entrance to the Nasrid palace. Plus Ultra was the motto of king Charles V. - Mosaic in Nasrid palace
- Hall of the Ambassadors
The Nasrid palaces are very crowded. Very crowded indeed. - Hall of the Ambassadors
Wall decorations in the Salón de los Embajadores, which is the largest room in Alhambra. The inscriptions are Qur'anic verses and poems. - Hall of the Ambassadors
Detail on the Hall walls, part of a larger inscription in Kufic script. One can still see traces of blue colour, as these arabesque and geometric motifs were originally painted with bright colours. - Court of the Myrtles
Patio de los Arrayanes is the center of the Comares Palace. The reflective pool is 34 m long! - More mosaic
Mosaic in Comares Palace, part of the Nasrid Palaces. Begun by Isma'il in the early 13th century and modified by Yusuf I and Muhammad V. - Court of the Myrtles
Court of the Myrtles with the Comares Tower in the background. The name of the Court comes from the myrtle hedges. Built in the 14th century. - Court of the Lions
The wonderful Court was built by Muhammed V between 1362 and 1391. - Court of the Lions
The Lion Fountain that gives the name to the Court. On the rim of the fountain, there's a poem by Ibn Zamrak, describing the beauty of the fountain. - Court of the Lions
The Court was built by Muhammad V around 1380. - Hall of the Abencerrajes
The ceiling in the Hall of Abencerrajes. The decorations are called muqarnas, and in the museum is a very instructive exhibition on how such a ceiling was made. Basically a lot A LOT of tiny pieces (alveoles) put together. - Court of the Lions
One of the pavillions in the Court. - Ornaments
- Another ceiling
Ceiling in one of the side halls, covered in muqarnas. - Zellij in Alhambra
More wonderful zellij pattern in the palace. - Stucco in Alhambra
Detail of stucco on the wall indicating that the decorations were indeed colourful. - Patio de Lindaraja
16th century Renaissance-style addition. Originally an open garden, but closed when new buildings were added. - View from Alhambra
Wonderful view towards Albaicin and Sacromonte. - Church of Santa María de la Alhambra
The only way to take pictures without the crowds it so hide them behind the bushes :-) - Puerta de la Justicia
The southern entrance to Alhambra palace, built in 1348 by Yusuf I. - Puerta de la Justicia
This massive entrance surely kept all the enemies out. - Alhambra hammam
Ceiling in the Alhambra's public hammam, constructed under Muhammad III. - Alhambra hammam
Every room you enter has more holes in the ceiling. The rooms follow a standard layout: changing room, cold room, hot room, boiler room. - Alhambra palace
Alhambra palace from Mirador de San Nicolas. With Sierra Nevada in the background. - Roman Theatre
Dating from the 1st and used until the 3rd century, the theatre was discovered in 1951! Parts of the theatre were used to build Alcazaba. - Château de Chenonceau
Chambre de Diane de Poitiers. - Château de Chenonceau
One of the many chandeliers in the Gallery across the river. - Château de Chenonceau
One part of the castle kitchen, with modern equipment. - Château de Chenonceau
Another magninficent fireplace, this one is in the Salon Louis XIV. The salamander and the ermine are the symbols of Francis I and his wife Claude of France. - 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
Chambre des Cinq Reines Room of the daughters and daughters-in-law of Catherine de Médicis: La Reine Margot, Elisabeth of France, Maria Stuart (wife of François II), Elisabeth of Austria (wife of Charles IX), and Louise of Lorraine (wife of Henri III). - Château de Chenonceau
La chambre de Catherine de Médicis A typical renaissance baldachin bed. - Château de Chenonceau
La chambre de Catherine de Médicis The rooms were quite cosy with fireplaces, wooden ceilings and the walls covered with Flemish tapestries. - Château de Chenonceau
Chambre de Louise de Lorraine, the black room. She was mourning the death of her husband Henri III. - Château de Chenonceau
What a wonderful black room. And matching white flowers. - Château de Chenonceau
View of the castle from the gardens of Catherine de Médicis. - Château de Chenonceau
A 16th century farm in the castle gardens. Here all the flowers used for the castle decoration are grown. - Château de Chenonceau
The vegetable garden with all sorts of plants. I love the tiny apple trees forming the borders. Yes, those are 40 cm tall trees :-) - 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 double-spiral staircase in the centre of the castle. The castle is so wonderfully symmetric, it's quite easy to lose orientation. - Château de Chambord
The 18th century castle kitchen. - Château de Chambord
The centre of the spiral staircase has a lantern at the top.