Chateau de Chenonceau

The Chateau de Chenonceau spans the River Cher in the Loire Valley of France, built in its earliest form in the 1510s and expanded over the following decades, most famously by the addition of a long gallery bridging the river itself, first built for Diane de Poitiers and later completed under Catherine de' Medici after she reclaimed the chateau from her late husband's mistress. Its succession of female owners and patrons, including Diane de Poitiers, Catherine de' Medici and later Louise Dupin, has earned it the popular nickname Chateau des Dames, the Ladies' Chateau. The building combines late Gothic and early French Renaissance architectural elements and is counted among the most visited chateaux in France.