The Château de Billy is a ruined 13th – 14th century castle in the town of Billy in the Allier département of France.
History
For the first several centuries of its existence, the Château de Billy was the property of its builders, the Bourbons. The fortified town of Billy and the province of Bourbonnais were part of the domain of the lordship of the Bourbons. Both the castle and the lordship remained powerful until the French revolution (1789).
Architecture
The main fortification has an ovoid layout with a hexagonal watchtower which dominates the houses of the borough and the medieval streets that curve around the walls of the castle. An imposing châtelet guards the entrance. The southern curtain wall has a walkway that offers a splendid panorama of the Allier valley.
The castle is privately owned and open to the public. It has been listed since 1921 as a monument historique by the French Ministry of Culture.

Château de Billy

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The Château de Chareil-Cintrat, also known as the Château du Bas-Chareil is a late medieval château in France. It is located near Chareil-Cintrat, in the Allier department, Auvergne.
The château was built at the end of the Middle Ages by the Chareil family. In the early 16th century it was the home of Claude Morin, contrôleur ordinaire des guerres, who commissioned the Renaissance interior decorations, after returning from military campaigns during the Italian Wars. During the French Revolution, the property was sold off by the revolutionary government. It was purchased by the Franch state on October 10, 1958, the same year in which it was classed as a monument historique. The château is now in the care of the Centre des monuments nationaux, and is open to the public. It comprises a rectangular main building, with round towers at the north-west and south-west corners.

Château de Chareil-Cintrat

The Château de La Palice is a castle, developed into a château, in the commune of Lapalisse in the Allier département of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes région of France.
History
Built between the 11th and 13th centuries, the feudal part of the castle was acquired by Jacques I de Chabannes in 1430. His grandson, Jacques II, maréchal of France, built the Renaissance wing at the beginning of the 16th century out of rose-coloured bricks, endowing the castle with sobriety and elegance. This wing replaced the wall connecting the fortress to the Gothic style chapel, itself built c.1470.
The ceilings have raised colourful box beams inlaid with gold.
Today, the fully furnished living rooms contain many historical artefacts as a museum of the castle's history.
The Château de La Palice is listed as a monument historique by the French Ministry of Culture.

Château de La Palice

Le château des Écherolles est un château situé à La Ferté-Hauterive, en France.
Localisation
Le château est situé au sud de la commune de La Ferté-Hauterive (Allier), à proximité du cours de l'Allier.
Historique
Jacques Cœur (1395-1456), riche commerçant dont la famille était originaire de Saint-Pourçain-sur-Sioule, argentier du roi Charles VII, possédait la terre des Écherolles, où un village de mariniers dominait le port de la Corde.
Au XVIe siècle, la famille Giraud des Écherolles en devient propriétaire.
Le château est vendu comme bien national à la Révolution.
L'édifice est inscrit au titre des monuments historiques en 2003.

Château des Écherolles

An architectural masterpiece which links the Middle Ages with the Renaissance; 
fortress and ancestral home - the Chateau de Busset is an eloquent witness of the most fascinating times of French history.
Since the end of the 15th century, it hasbeen the property of the non-reigning direct descendants of Saint-Louis.
At the time of the Crusades...
The origins of the Castle of Busset resonate with the din of the weapons of the Templars - the religious and military knights who fought in the defence of the pilgrims in the Holy Land. Tradition maintains that the construction of the castle had commenced by the end of the 13th century on the site of a Commanderie during the time when Renand de Vichy was Grand Master of the Order of the Temple. The frescos that decorate the oratory of the south-east tower, which probably date from the end of the 14th century, bear witness to the strong sense of spirituality permeating that house.
Medieval fortress...
The edifice dominating over the valley of the river Allier was a creation of its time - a feudal home erected to repulse attacks, to defend its sovereignty, to protect itself. Its ramparts, whose longer side presents itself from the front, the straight moat-protected walls, the mighty keep crowned by galleries and battlements as well as the elegant and yet imposing Orion tower, still bear witness to that purpose. 
The Orion tower...
Covered by an octagonal roof, the Orion tower (opposite) received its name from the constellation which the Knights of the Temple enjoyed observing from its top.
To the origins of the family of France...
The vicissitudes of history resulted in Busset falling to the feudal lord de Tourzel, Baron d'Alegre, and later his great-grand-daughter Marguerite getting married in 1498 to Pierre de Bourbon, Chamberlain of Louis XII. Since that moment the Bourbon Busset family have never left that estate.
From the fortified castle to the pleasant home...
The marriage between Philippe de Bourbon Busset and Louise Borgia, daughter of the famous Cesare Borgia, brought a flavor of Italian Renaissance spirit to Busset that softened the character of the castle. In particular, Louise added a covered arcade to the ground floor, which reproduced the architectural rhythm of the cloisters, and a gallery on the first floor of the east wing, whose frescos have recently been re-discovered and restored.
The Cousin of Navarre...
The influence of the Bourbon Busset family on history was considerable. Henri IV would not have honored the castle with his stay there in 1559 if he had not highly esteemed that family - which was the only one to lend its name to a province: le Bourbonnais.
Moreover, Claude de Bourbon Busset, coutier of the King's Chamber, was raised by letters of 1586 to the rank of Count.
After the Revolution...
Feats of armed combat were frequent among members of that illustrious family. Many of them bore high military titles even after the French Revolution, which proved to be a painful period... 
After the injuries had been healed in the 19th century, the restorations of Viollet-le-Duc and a number of interior conversions were completed in the castle. For example, the wooden panelling "en plis de serviette" of the Saint-Louis gallery or the painted coffered ceiling - additions which are harmoniously juxtaposed to the medieval parts such as the monumental fireplace in the grand salon.
http://www.busset.com