Loire Valley chateaux: The beauty, space and spectacle of France's castle houses

"There is opulence in every eyeful. Chateaux sit at commanding and defensive standpoints, surrounded by moats, parallelograms of trees on long avenues. Get closer and the devil is in the detail."

Chateau de Chenonceau is a French castle, spanning the River Cher, near Chenonceaux, Loire Valley.

To visit the chateaux of the Loire is to re-live history, to potter along corridors walked by royalty, to imagine romantic trysts, whispered plans for changing history and deadly embraces.

The longest river in France with a length of 1,006km, the Loire weaves its way through the garden of France punctuated with the most beautiful castles, gardens and vineyards.