Château de Chenonceau

Step inside a Renaissance masterpiece built directly over the River Cher, where the elegant two-story gallery stretching across the water creates one of the Loire Valley's most striking silhouettes. Chenonceau owes its character to the women who shaped it — Diane de Poitiers laid out the first formal gardens and built the bridge, while Catherine de Medicis added the gallery inspired by Venetian architecture. Allow time to wander through furnished rooms spanning three centuries, admire the tapestry collection, and explore the Renaissance gardens, labyrinth, and flower workshop that supplies fresh arrangements throughout the château. The château is open every day of the year, though closing times vary by season — arriving at opening helps avoid the largest crowds at France's second most-visited château.