A stop in Azay-le-Rideau

Like the Château de Chenonceau to the east, the Château d'Azay-le-Rideau is built on a river. It's just 14 miles southwest of the center of the big city of Tours. Chenonceau is on the Cher river about 20 miles east of Tours, and Azay-le-Rideau is on the Indre river. Both are tributaries of the Loire river to the north. The 19th century novelist Honoré de Balzac called Azay-le-Rideau "a diamond with its multiple facets set in the Indre" — at least that's what the Cadogan Loire guidebook says. The Michelin green guide gives it three stars.

The Château d'Azay-le-Rideau was built starting in 1518, about the same time as another grand Loire Valley monument, the Château de Chambord. An earlier building on the site had been burned down in 1418 by the forces of the French king Charles VII. You can see how massive the Renaissance-era building actually is if you notice that Walt and our friend Sue are standing in front of it in the photo above. Enlarge it and examine it carefully. Walt and Sue look really tiny.