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France travel > Loire Valley > Castles

The castles of the Loire Valley are renowned the world over, and a very major attraction with visitors to France.

Altogether there are more than 300 chateau in the region, many built in the heyday of the French royalty and nobility, centred around the 17th-18th centuries. some were built 'new' while others were based on converting an earlier medieval castle on the same location into a more habitable and luxurious castle.

There are also often lavishly planted gardens around the Loire chateaux - the origins of the 'French Style' garden are here - which are often as interesting as the chateaux themselves.

Some of the Loire chateaux are now open to the public, while others are established as fine hotels, and many are still in private ownership.

Visit the Castles of the Loire Valley

In this section we visit some of the more popular Loire chateaux and castles of the Loire Valley.

We now also have a section dedicated to France castles where you can learn more, and an article about a holiday in a castle in France