Buildings
Bourges Cathedral
Bourges, Cher
A World Heritage Gothic cathedral built around 1200, unusual for having no transept, so its five-aisled nave rises in one great sweep of light.
Travel tips in Centre-Val de Loire, France
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Buildings
Chartres Cathedral
Chartres, Eure-et-Loir
One of the most perfect Gothic cathedrals, built mostly between 1194 and 1220 and keeping almost all its original stained glass, famous for its deep …
Historic sites
Château d'Azay-le-Rideau
Azay-le-Rideau, Indre-et-Loire
One of the most graceful Renaissance châteaux of the Loire Valley, built in the 1520s on an island in the River Indre, so that it seems to float on t…
Historic sites
Château de Chambord
Blois, Loir-et-Cher
The largest and most extravagant of the Loire châteaux, built from 1519 for King François I as a hunting lodge.
Historic sites
Château de Chenonceau
Loches, Indre-et-Loire
One of the most beautiful châteaux in France, built across the River Cher on a series of arches, with its long gallery reflected in the water.
Historic sites
Château Royal de Blois
Blois, Loir-et-Cher
Home to seven kings and ten queens of France, this royal château in the centre of Blois shows four centuries of French architecture around one courty…
Historic sites
Palais Jacques-Cœur, Bourges
Bourges, Cher
The Gothic town palace of Jacques Cœur, a merchant who became the richest man in France and treasurer to King Charles VII before falling from favour.
Historic sites
Château de Châteaudun
Châteaudun, Eure-et-Loir
A château on a cliff above the River Loir that combines a 12th-century keep, a Gothic wing and a Renaissance wing, built for Dunois, a companion of J…
Historic sites
Château de Fougères-sur-Bièvre
Le Controis-en-Sologne, Loir-et-Cher
A little fortified château of the late 15th century, between a castle and a country house, with towers, a keep and a courtyard opening onto the villa…
Historic sites
Château de Talcy
Mer, Loir-et-Cher
A small, peaceful château in the farmland north of Blois, with an orchard and conservatory of old fruit varieties.
Historic sites
Maison de George Sand, Nohant
Montgivray, Indre
The country house where the writer George Sand lived and wrote, and where she welcomed Chopin, Delacroix, Liszt, Flaubert and Balzac.