It isn't really the inspiration for the Disney castle, when you see it, it certainly could have been. Chenonceau Chateau is one of the best known in the Loire Valley and the most visited. It was built in the early 16th century on the foundations of an old mill alongside the Cher River and then was expanded to span the river 1556-1576 using Italian Renaissance designs. The approach looks deceiving as you can't see the river.
On either side of the chateau are beautiful gardens, and it becomes apparent that this Chateau is all about the powerful women who lived there over time. In 1535 the chateau was seized by Francis I for unpaid taxes and upon his death Henry II gave the chateau to his favorite mistress Diane de Poitiers. She became attached to the chateau and had extensive flower and vegetable gardens planted. As an aside, Henry also gave her Cheverny Chateau but she didn't like that one so gave it to the ancestor of the present owner, a "friend" of hers. Nice exchange. Here are a few photographs of Diane's gardens.
The other notable resident from the Renaissance is Catherine de Medici, the wife of Henry II who forced Diane out after Henry's death and took over control of the chateau. Her garden is smaller than Diane's though no less lovely.
Here is an aerial view of the formal gardens as well as the view of the full chateau spanning the river.
A few more garden views including beds of dahlias which will be spectacular when they bloom, an innovative bee house with the entrance for the bees in a tall tower and varieties of vegetables, herbs, and flowers. A more contemporary garden honors some contemporary garden designers as well.
Catherine de Medici added buildings to the grounds to serve as kitchens and an apothecary with beautiful wooden cabinets and porcelain jars containing all kinds of remedies. Catherine surrounded herself with scholars, scientists, and astrologers. She was close to Nostradamus, the French apothecary, who worked tirelessly to eradicate the Plague.
The kitchen building, a statue of a stag like the one hunted on the grounds of many chateau in the days of the Renaissance, and yes that is indeed a Giant Sequoia.
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