Castles & tourist sites

The Azay-le-Rideau castle estate invites you to enjoy a unique visiting experience: admire the sculpted facades, discover the 19th century decorations on the ground floor and the Renaissance room on the first floor, and don't miss the original framework from the early 16th century. Finally, stroll through and contemplate the romantic flowered park and extend your discovery to the press: "multimedia interpretation space"...

Price: €11.50 (public price: €12.50€) Owned by the Indre et Loire Departmental Council, the site comprises two castles: the keep built by the Count of Anjou, Foulques Nerra, and the royal dwelling with its Renaissance architecture. The latter saw Agnès Sorel, Joan of Arc and Anne of Brittany pass through. A pretty medieval garden is also located at the foot of the keep. Each year, a new exhibition is proposed in parallel with the augmented reality tours on the Histopad tablets.

Price: €11.50 (public price: €12.50) The Royal Fortress of Chinon is a unique medieval site in the Loire Valley! Surrounded by the River Vienne and a host of vineyards, this landmark of French history (where Joan of Arc met Charles VII in 1429 before liberating Orléans) offers several types of tour: self-guided with a Histopad, guided tours, children's trails, etc. Special events are organised for families at every holiday period.

Price: €14.50 (public price: €16.00) The favourite residence of the Kings of France during the Renaissance, the Royal Château of Blois is a true architectural and historical synthesis of the Châteaux of the Loire. Its four wings, each in a different style, and its monumental staircase around the same courtyard, offer an astonishing panorama of French architecture from the Middle Ages to the Classical period. In the royal flats, the magnificent restored polychrome decorations, furniture and paintings evoke the daily life of the Court and power during the Renaissance. The private chambers of François I and the royal chambers of Catherine de Medici and Henri III, where the Duke of Guise was murdered in 1588, are steeped in the major events of French history.