- 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. - Zellij in Mexuar
This style of mosaic tilework is called zellij. Charles V was not only King of Spain, but also Holy Roman Emperor, Archduke of Austria, and Lord of the Netherlands. Maybe I missed some titles. Anyway, the double-headed eagle represents the Holy Roman Empire. - 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. - Alcazaba
I just learned that Alcazaba comes from Al-qasbah. D'oh. - Alcazaba
The fortress was built on the slopes of Gibralfaro from the 11th to the 14th century. Puerta de los Cuartos de Granada. - Alcazaba
Interesting multifoil arches in the Taifa palace (11th century). - Alcazaba
Reconstructed Nasrid palaces. - Alcazaba
Cuartos de Granada - Patio de la Alberca
Patio de la Alberca (Pool courtyard) in the Nasrid palace. - Alcazaba
What lovely patterns! - 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 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 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. - Château de Chambord
One of the famous Flemish tapestries commissioned by Francis I in 1532. It depicts the story of Scipio Africanus, the Roman General who defeated Carthage. The oxen are taken to the temple of Jupiter to be sacrificed, while the elephants and camels carry the wealth brought back from Africa. - 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 queen's bedchamber is furnished as a 17th century bedroom. - Château de Chambord
Louis XIV's ceremonial apartment. While Francoise's bedroom looked cosy, this one is too grand for my liking. - Château de Chambord
The chandelier in the royal ceremonial apartment. - Château de Chambord
Governor's bedchamber. Charming. - Château de Chambord
The castle chapel. Started under François Ier, continued under Henry II and finished under Louis XIV. It is quite uncommonly oriented towards west. - Château de Chambord
The almost perfectly symmetric castle. - Château de Chambord
Laurel bedchamber was refurbished in the 18th century. Parquet floor was added and the walls covered with wallpaper. I love love love this pattern. - Château de Chambord
The magnificent stairs go all the way up to the castle roof. - Château de Chambord
Ah, the castle terraces. The lantern tower is topped by a royal crown with a fleur-de-lys. - Château de Chambord
All the details of the castle become visible from the terraces. - Château de Chambord
The view of the French gardens. Louis XIV had a similar view from his bedroom. Not bad. - Château de Chambord
Am I repetitive with these pictures? Maybe. But the castle, pardon, the hunting lodge, is splendid. - Château de Chambord
The NE facade of the keep. It was here that we realised that we 'lost' our younger son somewhere in the castle. It's just the largest castle in France, no biggie. - Château de Chambord
Lapidary deposit. This is a part of the original lantern tower. Obviously showing more salamanders. - Château de Chambord
Chambord in all its beauty. The keep was finished under François Ier in 1519, the wings were added later on. The castle was first open to visitors in 1821. - Château de Falaise
From the Loire valley - via Le Mans - towards Normandy. First stop was Falaise, where William the Conqueror was born. The construction of this castle started in 1123 by Henry I of England. - Fougères
What a picturesque castle this is! - Fougères
Now THIS is a castle. Built from 12th to 15th century, it occupies an area of two hectares. - Fougères
Fougères castle. The original wooden one was destroyed and a new one built in 1176. The Gobelin tower is from the 13th century. - 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 Costaérès
Another spectacular place. A neo-medieval style manor on one of the islands. Built by a Polish engineer Bruno Abakanowicz, later Sienkiewicz wrote Quo Vadis here. Now owned by the comedian Didi :-) - 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. - Château de Beynac
The oldest part of the castle is a large keep on the right. Unfortunately, I could not convince other members of the family to visit yet another castle... - La Roque-Gageac
Oh, another spectacular village. - La Roque-Gageac
A truly spectacular village. - Le fort de la Roque-Gageac
The ancient medieval fortification dates from the 12th century. It does have a spectacular location. - La Roque-Gageac
- La Roque-Gageac
Yes, it's right up there. A troglodyte fort. The wall's been occupied since the prehistoric times and the fort built in the 12th century. - 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
- Le fort de la Roque-Gageac
Unfortunately, I have very little information about the castle... - Dordogne river
- Le fort de la Roque-Gageac
Occupied since prehistoric times, the fort was built in the 12th century. - 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. - Le fort de la Roque-Gageac
This are the stairs I was talking about. Hot hot hot. - Le fort de la Roque-Gageac
I mean... how cool is that entrance? - Château de Montfort
- 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!