What are the castles of the Loire Valley?
France's Stone Peacocks
What are the castles of the Loire Valley?
If you follow the Loire River through the heart of France, you'll stumble into a fairytale. Not the kind with dragons — the kind with hundreds of real castles, each one more extravagant than the last, built by kings and nobles who turned an entire valley into their personal showroom.
The Loire Valley became France's castle central during the Renaissance, roughly 1400 to 1600. Kings moved their court here because it was safer than Paris during wars, and the land was perfect — flat enough to build on, close enough to the capital to stay important. Once the king showed up, every noble with money to burn wanted a castle nearby to stay in the royal good graces.
