Chenonceau is called the "Château of Ladies" due to the important role women played through its history. The castle in its present form was built in the early 1500s on the Cher River. Katherine Briçonnet, the wife of the owner, supervised much of its design and construction.
In 1535, King Francis I (a contemporary of Henry VIII of England) seized the castle from Briçonnet's son for unpaid debts to the Crown.
Walking through the park to the castle, we said hello to some ducks and a muskrat found in the stream along the path.
We thought someone in the department of French château maintenance had a brilliant idea when they had imprinted on the scaffolding material the part of the castle that was covered. It doesn't make for perfect photos, but it put a smile on our face to know that someone was trying to make us feel better about the whole thing.
The donjon (early word for castle keep and the word that inspired the English word dungeon), The Marques Tower.
Entering the castle our guidebook calls "the Jewel of the Loire."
Above the entrance door. The fire-breathing salamander was the badge of Francis I. The salamander was a symbol of enduring faith which triumphs over the fires of passion. 
The hall just inside the entrance is covered with a series of rib vaults whose keystones, detached from each other, form a broken line. The baskets sculpted in the keystones are decorated with foliage and flowers. Made in 1515, it is one of the most beautiful examples of decorative sculpting from the French Renaissance period.
Above a doorway in the hall is a statue of St. John the Baptist, the patron saint of Chenonceau, as a child.
The Guards' Room, formerly the resting place of the castle's armed men responsible for royal protection, is now the place to go for your audioguide. European history is going high-tech. Chenonceau is just one of many historical places around Europe you can tour with the use of a rented ipod. The tour is loaded on the video ipod, which includes introductory music and photos to help you be sure you're in the right place. There is even a special children's edition of the tour featuring a ghost story to keep kids busy. It did make the touring experience quieter and less hectic as you can go at your own pace. 
Here in a corner of the Guards' Room, you can see the original floor paint.In 1533, King Francis I's son Henry II was married to the Italian Catherine de' Medici. Both were 14 years old. By the time Henry was fifteen years old, the beautiful widow, Diane de Poitiers, almost twenty years his senior, became his mistress, and once he was made king, Henry gave Diane Chenonceau. Henry adored the older Diane until the day he died at the age of 40 from injuries sustained in a jousting tournament. His wife Catherine, who despite her humiliation had not caused a fuss for 25 years, kicked Diane out of Chenonceau, but gave her the nearby Château de Chaumont in exchange.
The ceiling of the Guards' Room is painted with the symbol of Catherine, two-interlocking Cs.
Just off the Guards' Room is the Chapel. During the French Revolution, when many churches were being destroyed, it was saved thanks to the idea of the owner at that time, Madame Dupin, of turning it into a wood store.
Emilie learning about Diane's Garden.
The bedroom of Diane de Poitiers.
After Catherine banished the mistress Diane from the castle, she put her own portrait in Diane's bedroom and added the initials C and H to the fireplace, for Catherine and Henry.
As you leave Diane's bedroom, you see the initials of Catherine and Henry above the doorway. Look carefully. Do you what other initial is formed when you join the interlocking Cs and the H? The answer is found below.
The Gallery which spans the Cher River was first just a simple bridge built by Diane de Poitiers to have easier access to hunting grounds across the river. Catherine built the Gallery over Diane's bridge and used it as a ballroom. It is 60 meters long and 6 meters wide. 
I was surprised that this woman was American. It seemed like such a French thing to do -- put your little pooches in a backpack so they can visit a château.During World War I, the owner of Chenonceau set up, at his own expense, a temporary hospital, using all the rooms of the castle as wards for the sick. The gallery in particular was an important space in attending the wounded.
Between 1940 and 1942, the castle also had a remarkable situation. The entrance to the castle was on occupied territory, while the south gate across the river was in the free zone. Many resistant fighters entered one door and exited free on the other side, as if by miracle! Several prisoner exchanges also happened here.
The staircase leading to the first floor is remarkable because it is one of the first straight staircases – or banister on banister – built in France based on the Italian model, rather than on the the traditional spiral staircase model.
A painting of Diane de Poitiers as the goddess Diana the Huntress hangs in Francis I's bedroom. This portrait was painted when Diane was 57 years old.
The bedroom of Catherine de' Medici.
Learning about the Louis XIV living room.
View of the Marques Tower
The Five Queens' Bedroom, named in memory of Catherine de' Medici's two daughters and three daughters-in-law. Diane de Poitiers had encouraged Henry to have many children with Catherine. Her lover's wife caused Diane no problems and Diane didn't want there to be any need for Henry to seek out a new wife who may not prove to be as....understanding. 
The bedroom of Louise de Lorraine one of Catherine's daughters-in-law. Following the assassination of her husband King Henry III by the monk Jacques Clément in 1589, Louise of Lorraine retired to Chenonceau in meditation and prayer. Surrounded by nuns who lived in the château as if in a convent, and always dressed in white in compliance with the etiquette of royal mourning, she was known as "the White Queen". Her bedroom is decorated all in black with mourning objects such as silver tears and crowns of thorns.
Down in the kitchens, this is the château's largest chimney. You can see the bread oven next to the fireplace. Chenonceau was the site of many grand parties throughout the centuries and the kitchens were surely bustling with activity. Supplies were brought down river and unloaded at kitchen doors that open up right onto the river itself.
Wouldn't you love to have this kitchen hutch? A place for everything....
During the First World War, the Renaissance kitchens were fitted with the modern equipment that was needed for the château to be transformed into a hospital. 
View of the castle from Catherine de' Medici's garden.
Emilie thought this old house covered in vines, the Steward's house built in the 16th century, resembled Madeline's house.
Diane de Poitiers' Garden is beautiful (refer back to the second photo for a good view), but we preferred Catherine's smaller, more intimate garden.
This sphinx asked us no questions as we left the château courtyard.
A new maze, rebuilt exactly from Catherine de' Medici's plans, was opened recently.
It didn't take long for the kids to reach the center.
Resting their feet
David trying to figure out how to get back out again.
Finding inexpensive meals while traveling can take some doing. We were happy to find a lunch stand on our way back to the car and thoroughly enjoyed the French bread sandwiches (James' had hotdogs in it) and I even broke out a bag of Doritos and Cheetos.Answer: D (for Diane de Poiters?)
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