Romantic, moat-ringed Azay-le-Rideau is wonderfully adorned with slender turrets, geometric windows and decorative stonework, wrapped up within a shady landscaped park. Built in the 1500s on a natural island in the middle of the River Indre, the château is one of the Loire’s loveliest: Honoré de Balzac called it a ‘multifaceted diamond set in the River Indre’.
Its most famous feature is its open loggia staircase , in the Italian style, overlooking the central courtyard and decorated with the salamanders and ermines of François I and Queen Claude.
The interior is mostly 19th century, remodelled by the Marquis de Biencourt from the original 16th-century château built by Gilles Berthelot, chief treasurer for François I. In July and August, a son et lumière (adult/child €11/3), one of the Loire’s oldest and best, is projected onto the castle walls nightly.
Audioguides (adult €4.50) are available in five languages, and 45-minute guided tours in French are free.
