The Château d'Ancenis is a castle in the town and commune of Ancenis in the Loire-Atlantique département of France. The castle, built in 984, is on the bank of the Loire.
It originally consisted of a motte-and-bailey castle. It had simple defences including a moat and a palissade with an encloseure to shelter the population. Owing to its location, it rapidly developed as an ideal place for surveillance of the river, exercising military and economic control.
The mediaeval fortress (15th century) had a unique system of access: a drawbridge arranged in a chicane and a crooked arched gallery with a portcullis.
It has been listed since 1977 as a monument historique by the French Ministry of Culture. This protection concerns the entirety of the fortifications, as well as the façades and roof of the buildings (Renaissance house, former chapel and a dwelling called "logis de Marie Fouquet").

Château d'Ancenis

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Château de la Turmelière is in Liré (Maine-et-Loire), and is the birthplace of Joachim du Bellay. The remains of the ancient castle of Turmelière ruins dovecote and moats were registered historic monuments by order of 18 October 1941 and are the property of the municipality. At the bottom of a vast park stands a massive castle built in the late nineteenth century. Behind this building, slightly sunken and concealed by trees, rise the imposing remains of a medieval castle. These ruins are those of the native home of Joachim du Bellay. Today the ruins belong to the town of Liré. The nineteenth of the castle is the seat of the association "the Turmelière" which hosts many school, high school and university students as well as many tourists who come to discover this place full of history and poetry.
http://www.frenchchateau.net/chateaux-of-pays-de-la-loire/chateau-de-la-turmeliere.html

Château de la Turmelière

On May 22nd 1392, Alain de Malestroit, Lord of Oudon, obtained from Jean IV, Duke of Brittany, the authorization to rebuild this Castle. He built first the main tower, the “keep”, and then its fortifications.
This Castle constructed on a rock, surveys the traffic on the river and overlooks Anjou on the South bank. It stands sentry, like the neighbouring Castle of Ancenis, on the borders of Brittany, ready to defend Nantes the dukedom capital, from the greedy kingdoms of France and England.
Behind a defensive architecture the tower is also the main home of the Lord. Thus, it integrates ostentatious and residential functions. A large spiral staircase serves each level composed of a spacious common- room and an adjoining private room. These rooms are well lit with huge mullioned and transomed windows, and comfortably equipped with window seats (coussièges), fireplaces and toilets (latrines). Wardrobes, watchrooms and backstairs were fitted into the thickness of the wall.
http://www.loire-en-scene.fr/en/home/17-version-en/chateau-medieval-oudon-en/60-oudon-castle-history.html

Château d'Oudon

The Château de Clermont, built between 1643 and 1649, is located in the commune of Le Cellier, 27 kilometres (17 mi) from Nantes in France. It was owned by the Maupassant family before becoming the property of the actor Louis de Funès.
Appearance and architecture
The appearance of the château has remained broadly the same since its construction at the time of the regency of Anne of Austria during the minority of Louis XIV. Its southern aspect, which overlooks the River Loire offers a panoramic view over the Pays des Mauges and the Pays de Retz. The northern aspect has a shaded avenue perpendicular to the Paris-Nantes road framed by the original wings of the château. It is surrounded by 3 hectares (7.4 acres) of parkland and a vineyard of 17 hectares (42 acres). Louis de Funès had a rose garden planted, but nothing remains of it today.
Château de Clermont shows three major characteristics of the Louis XIII style:
pink bricks and masonry which softens the formal lines of the layout
distinctive and unique slate roofs of various of the main buildings
the central part of the building being used to house the main staircase and dominating the surrounding construction.
The large avenue crosses two moats and brings visitors in the central courtyard flanked by the wings.
Wings
The two wings contained the servants rooms: sleeping quarters, stables, and greenhouses, placed where they could be watched by the master of the house. Where the wings join the main body of the house are the kitchens on the right and on the left the chapel, the altar still displaying its original retable. From the centre of the wings arched passages arched lead out: on the right to the gardens and on the left to the farmyard. The two entrances provide both convenience and break the monotony of the formal lines. A gallery runs along the first floor of the right-hand wing.
The wings of Clermont are very different from those of other châteaux from the same period of the 17th century. Up until 1624, wings were designed to be of the same or very similar height to that of the main house, so the courtyard was enclosed on three sides, an echo of the former defensive role of castles. The Rocher-Portail, near Fougères, is a rare intact example of this kind of architecture. Clermont is one of the last châteaux to have wings attached to the central building in this fashion. They are, however, smaller, lower and have an Italian influence, natural enough at a time when many French architects were studying in Rome and Venice. Clermont was completed just before 1650, the year when, following the trend started by the builders of Vaux-le-Vicomte and François Mansart at the Château de Beaumesnil, the central bodies of the majority of new castles started to be built separated from the wings.
Mixture of styles
In a design that was, at the time, very modern, there are a number of features that are reminiscent of older architecture: corbelling is used on both the northern and southern sides, and on the Loire side machicolations are utilised to support the high roofs. Regardless of their architectural heritage, overall the features blend to a harmonious whole.
History
The château was inherited by the de Funès family from an aunt, the Countess of Maupassant. It was built by the Chenu de Clermont, a family of important military administrators. René Chenu, (1599–1672) was a long-time governor of the fortified towns of Oudon and Champtoceaux which dominated the Loire upstream. His son Hardy Chenu (1621–1683) was in charge of the fortifications, cities, castles and fortified towns of Brittany.
The Chenu were vassals of the House of Condé, who had many holdings in the west of France, and this feudal relationship, so strong under Ancien Régime, was increased by a strong personal friendship. Rene Chenu was the contemporary and loyal ally of Henry II de Bourbon, prince de Condé. The birth and death of Hardy Chenu coincide with those of Louis II de Bourbon-Condé, the Grand Condé, whom he served. It is traditionally held that one of the Chenu, either the father or the son, saved the life of their master, and that Clermont was constructed to express his recognition of the act. In any case, the construction of Clermont, with its imposing proportions, testifies to some princely expenditure. The Château de Clermont was built shortly after the Battle of Rocroi (19 May 1643), where the Grand Condé, saved the throne of the enfant Louis XIV and merited a considerable reward. It reflects enthusiasm of a period filled with glory. For 30 years the chateau was the property of French comedian Louis De Funes. In 2013 the mansion was converted to a museum dedicated to the life and times of Funes.

Château de Clermont 

The Château de Bourmont is a converted castle in the commune of Freigné in the Lot département of France.
History
The family of La Tour-Landry and, later, the Maillé de La Tour-Landry, held the lands of Bourmont from the 14th century. Through an alliance in 1691 between Marie-Hélène de Maillé de La Tour-Landry (1670-1752) and Marie-Henry, Count of Ghaisne (1662-1710), it passed to the family of Ghaisne de Bourmont, who still own it.
In 1771, the Château de Bourmont was the birthplace of Louis-Auguste-Victor, Count de Ghaisnes de Bourmont, architect of the French conquest of Algeria in 1830. The conquest led to him being appointed Maréchal de France (Marshal of France).
In 1795, during the Chouannerie, vicomte de Scépaux established his headquarters there.
Architecture
There are remains of an important defensive military structure from the Middle Ages. The château was extended with the construction of buildings from the 16th century to the end of the 19th. The two commons and the orangery were built in 1702 in the Louis XIV Style. The residence dates from 1892, constructed in Neo-Gothic style by Bibard and Lediberder.
The château is privately owned and not open to the public. It has been partially listed since 1993 as a monument historique by the French Ministry of Culture.

Château de Bourmont

Château de Briacé is a castle located at Landreau (Loire-Atlantique), France. The current castle dates from the nineteenth century. The castle is located in the French department of Loire-Atlantique, in the southwest of the town of Landreau on the D55 in the direction of the Chapelle-Heulin, and near the marsh of Goulaine. Briacé Castle is a Renaissance building in ocher freestone and limestone, dating largely from the nineteenth century, although the north gable is older. It is surrounded by wide moat masonry of which only the western and southern parts. It is surrounded by a 7 ha park where several centuries old trees located. Manoir twelfth century, rebuilt in Renaissance style in the fifteenth century. Partially destroyed during the War of Vendee, it was rebuilt in the nineteenth century, including its moat, but the entire western part has not been completed beyond the cellars, where a blind gable with stone projections for liaison with future walls. The park, cellars and common (stables) also date back to the nineteenth century and the general organization corresponds to the principles of the castles of this century (English park with pond and stream traversing the park, vegetable garden surrounded by walls and greenhouses). The property was transferred to the St. Gabriel Brothers to the death of the owner Gilbert Blanchard of receivables in the 1950s to build an agricultural school (following demand from growers and market gardeners Nantes). Subsequently, half the moat north side and is, that of the stone bridge that allowed to connect the castle to a majestic driveway lined with remarkable trees was destroyed, the castle and cease to be on an island. The castle itself, including the interior, has been respected despite its initial use current and dorm rooms and the entrance gates to the pillars monumental and stylized.
http://www.frenchchateau.net/chateaux-of-pays-de-la-loire/chateau-de-briace.html

Château de Briacé

Chateau du Pin architectural history spans many centuries. The main wing was built in the late 15th century, during the reign of King François Premier. The chapel and other additions were constructed in the 18th and 19th centuries. It is believed that the foundation of the central square tower dates back to the 12th century. In 1922, Gerard and Claudine Gignoux acquired the chateau and raised their family there. Gerard created the extraordinary topiary gardens and oversaw Le Pin's farms and vineyards. Claudine, a skilled landscape painter, produced the fine murals for the chateau inspired by the local countryside. Le Pin consists of approximately 300 acres of farmland, woodlands with walking trails, vineyards, formal gardens, topiary, and a chapel. Le Pin is classified as a “Monument Historique” and the gardens have earned the “Des Jardins Remarquables” designation by the Ministère de la Culture et de la Communication.

The main wing of the chateau is available for rent to families and groups who wish to enjoy the romance and magic of Le Pin, the Loire Valley, and the surrounding countryside. Today, the children and grandchildren jointly own and manage the chateau.

http://chateaudupinloire.com/

Château du Pin (Champtocé-sur-Loire)

The Château de Goulaine is a former castle, now a château, in the Loire Valley located near Nantes, France. This castle has been home to the family of the marquis de Goulaine for over a thousand years. Château de Goulaine is also the estate-bottled wine produced at the château.
History
In the 12th century, when the Duchy of Brittany was independent, the first Goulaine, Jean de Goulaine, then captain of the city of Nantes, fortified the estate, which is still surrounded by marshes, to defend against attacks from Normans. The Goulaine were of the old nobility, recorded in the Seventh Crusade (1248). During the Wars of Religion, the Goulaine fought for the Catholic League: Gabriel, sieur de Goulaine, at the head of fifty lancers, and his brother Jean, baron du Faouët, took the châteaux of Trogoff (Plouescat) and of Kérouzéré (Sibiril) in 1590. Gabriel was attached to the Bourbon cause in being made a marquis by Henry IV of France. The Goulaine family ownership of the estate continued uninterrupted until 1788 when it was sold to a Dutch banker. This circumstance helped save the château from destruction during the French Revolution. In 1858, a member of the Goulaine family reacquired the estate and maintains it today.
Wines
While it is not clear exactly when the estate vineyard started producing wine for commercial use, rather than just family consumption, the millennium during which the estate of Château de Goulaine has been producing wine makes it the oldest known wine business still in existence; It is believed to be the third oldest commercial enterprise in the world. It is considered the oldest European family owned business. The castle estate is one of the last Châteaux de la Loire to still be producing wine.
In addition to producing a Muscadet, Château de Goulaine also produces a Sancerre and Vouvray as well as what is believed to be the first commercial Chardonnay in the western Loire Valley. The estate also grows some Folle blanche.
Architecture of the château
Today the style of the château, under its high pitched slate roofs bears some comparison to the central Loire estates of Château de Blois and Château de Chambord, though Château de Goulaine was built much earlier and in a more conservative style.
The butterflies aviary
Since 1984, hundreds of tropical butterflies are showcased in an aviary, flying freely among tropical plants. This project was initiated by Marquis Robert de Goulaine (1933-2010) himself.
LU's Museum
In the older stables, you can visit the LU Museum. You can see the art and advertising collection of the brand of biscuits. There are 500 works of art (paintings, sculptures). The brand is very important in Nantes because the production of "le Petit Beurre" biscuits was in the "quai Baco" in the factories of the family. Today, the brand history is told with their works of art.
Beurre blanc
According to one telling of the story, as favored by the American chef Bobby Flay, the white sauce beurre blanc was allegedly invented in the kitchen of Château de Goulaine by the head cook, Madame Clémence Lefeuvre.