The Château de Chantilly stands just outside the village of Chantilly in the Picardy region of northern France, only 25 minutes by train from Paris. It houses one of the finest collections of historical art and rare books in France, second only to the Louvre.
The Château de Vincennes is a former fortress and royal residence in the town of Vincennes, on the eastern edge of Paris, next to the Bois de Vincennes. It was a preferred residence, after the Palais de la Cité, of French Kings in the 14th to 16th century.
Legend has it that Charles Perrault, while staying at Château d’Ussé as a guest of the Count of Saumur, was inspired to portray the Château as the castle in his 17th-century tale of Sleeping Beauty.
In the 17th century, a financier, an architect, a gardener and a painter, combined to build one of France’s great estates, Vaux le Vicomte. They united their genius to build a model that inspired the whole of Europe for over a century.
Château de Villandry is the last of the great châteaux built during the Renaissance in the Loire Valley. Laid out in the shelter of a hillside on the Loire, it is simply a beautiful place of peace and harmony where it is pleasant just to wander around.
Much has been written about the Château des Dames. They were no ordinary women. They were strong, powerful, and ambitious. Business-minded and sometimes ruthless, they were no strangers to intrigue, deception, theft and infidelity.