Chateau de Lude, Le Lude
Great Loire château dating from the 11th century
Château de Lude, one of the great châteaux of the Loire Valley, stands at the crossroads of Anjou, Maine and Touraine. The original fortress was built between the 10th and 11th centuries on the banks of the river Loir, in order to defend Anjou from the incursions of the Normans and then the English during the Hundred Years' War. Louis XI's chamberlain, Jehan de Daillon, took possession of the Lude estates at the end of the 15th century. He transformed the fortress into an elegant pleasure palace, which his descendants embellished over two centuries - they added the Renaissance façade in its Italian style and the main courtyard with its marble plaques. The richness and variety of the styles that characterise the Château du Lude are echoed in the interior decoration and furniture. Since the 17th century, the old stronghold surrounded by its wide moat meets an elegant terrace edged by a stone balustrade over 200 metres in length.
