The Château du Lude is one of the many great châteaux of the Loire Valley (Vallée de la Loire) in France. The château is situated in the commune of Le Lude in the Sarthe department in the region of Pays-de-la-Loire and stands at the crossroads of Anjou, Maine and Touraine. Le Lude is the most northerly château of the Loire Valley and one of the last important historic castles in France, still inhabited by the same family for the last 260 years. The château is testimony to four centuries of French architecture, as a stronghold transformed into an elegant house during the Renaissance and the 18th century. The monument is located in the valley of le Loir. Its gardens have evolved throughout the centuries. It is a harmonious combination of French design and an English-style landscape, with a rose garden, topiaries, a labyrinth and a botanical walk.
History
The original fortress was built between the 10th and 11th centuries on the banks of the river Loire 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 employed Italian artists to convert the fortress into a residence.
In 1751, Le Lude became the property of Joseph Duvelaër, head of the Council of The French East India Company. His niece, the Marquise de la Vieuville, built the classical wing in the style of Louis XVI and defended the château during the French Revolution. Her descendants, the Talhouët-Roy, carried out extensive works of restoration throughout the 19th century. Le Lude has been passed down to the current occupants Count and Countess Louis-Jean de Nicolaÿ, who have carried on its tradition of restoration and decoration.

Château du Lude

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The Château de Vaujours is a ruined castle from the 12th and 15th centuries, located in the commune of Château-la-Vallière in the Indre-et-Loire département of central France. It was part of the seigneurie (manor) of Chasteaux-en-Anjou, the future Château-la-Vallière.
Location
The castle is located 3 kilometres south of Château-la-Vallière. It stands on the eastern border of the ancient Haut-Anjou, part of the former province of Anjou.
History
The fiefdom of Vaujours was a dependency of the sénéchaussée (bailiwick) of Baugé and the diocese of Angers. Hugues I d'Alluye, living in 978, is the earliest known lord. The castle of the barons of Chasteaux was built to defend the territory of Anjou.
Construction of the castle can be attributed to Hugues VI d'Alluye or to Rotron of Montfort, around 1250.
During the Hundred Years War, the fortress was never taken by the English. A major restoration was undertaken in the 15th century. Jean V de Bueil, nicknamed «le Fléau des Anglais» (the flail of the English), altered the defences such that they became impenetratable. He later died there, in 1477.
Louis XI stayed there during his visits to Anjou.
The daughter of Charles VII and Agnès Sorel, Jeanne de Valois, married Antoine de Bueil, son of Jean V de Bueil.
Under the Ancien Régime, the castle was bought by Louis XIV in 1666 and given in 1667 to his former mistress, Mademoiselle Louise de la Vallière; she became Duchesse de La Vallière et de Vaujours.
In the 18th century, Louise de la Vallière left the castle and bequeathed it to the Davot family, who occupied the castle for a long period. The castle was abandoned during the French Revolution. In 1815, it was sold to Thomas Stanhope-Holland who used it as a quarry.
The site was added to the list of monuments historiques on 24 October 1944, and the ruins were classified on 26 January 1989.
The site and castle are private property but offer guided-tours to the public.
Architecture
The castle ruins stand in the valley of the Fare, south of Château-la-Vallière, close to the hamlet of Vaujours.
The castle, of typical military architecture, stands on a mound in the middle of a lake whose waters feed the moats which surround it. It is formed of two fortresses: a bailey to the west and the castle to the east.
The entry to the double enceinte is defended by two cylindrical towers and a flying bridge, flanked to the north by a bastion. A drawbridge and a posternflanked by a cylindrical tower to the north provide access to the courtyard. The residence is to the south, the ruins of the chapel to the north. To the east, the towers give access to a covered chemin de ronde and to the south the bastion connected to the fortress and a further building.
Inside the fortress the keep still exists, as well as the lower courtyard. The enceinte includes several towers, some of which have rustication. The moats are, today, dried up and invaded by vegetation. The ruins have been cleared of vegetation and are surrounded by lawns and hedges.

Château de Vaujours

Château de Grésillon is a building from the eighteenth century and its 18 hectare park, works as a cultural house of Esperanto. It is located in Baugé-en-Anjou, about thirty kilometers east of Angers in Maine-et-Loire. Purchased through the subscription of Esperanto donors grouped into non-profit association "Kulturdomo of Franclandaj esperantistoj" founded in 1951 on the initiative of Henry Micard it hosts ever since Esperanto from all countries who come to make tourist trips cultural. The cultural house basically works when the school holidays and offers a varied program of linguistic and thematic courses. It welcomes in particular the training camp in international mathematics Olympiad every summer between 2007 and 2011.
http://www.frenchchateau.net/chateaux-of-pays-de-la-loire/chateau-de-gresillon.html

Château de Grésillon

The Château de Baugé is a castle, extensively altered and restored to create a château, in the commune of Baugé-en-Anjou in the Maine-et-Loire département of France. Construction dates from the first quarter of the 11th century, the second half of the 14th century, the second and third quarters of the 15th century and the second quarter of the 16th century.
History
In 1007, Foulques III Nerra, Count of Anjou, built a powerful fortress on a rocky outcrop at the confluence of two rivers, the Couasnon and the Altrée. The fortress had to withstand the later attacks of his enemy, the Count of Blois.
In the 15th century, Yolande of Aragon, mother of René, Count of Anjou, began construction of a castle within the fortress. She burnt it down during the Hundred Years' War to prevent it being taken by the English. The present structure dates from 1442, when René of Anjou inherited the ruin. He decide to build a majestic residence on the site to benefit from the well-stocked game forest of the country and to reside. In 1454, he appointed as his architect Guillaume Robin and construction began the same year. By 1462, some parts were occupied, and the whole was completed in 1465. René also designed the gardens which were planted with shrubs and flowers. The château became one of his favourite homes and he often visited to hunt and for magnificent banquets.
After René's death in 1480, Anjou was annexed under the crown by Louis XI. The barony of Baugé and its château passed through several hands and noted families, notably the family of Alençon, the Comte d'Enghien, the Comtesse de Soissons, Louise et Marie de Savoie-Carignan, the Duchesse de Luynes, the Duc de La Rochefoucauld and the Duc d'Estissac. Eventually, the barony was given to "Monsieur", the King's brother, Count of Provence, the future Louis XVIII.
Upkeep of the château was neglected by successive owners who preferred to live elsewhere. In 1790, it was very dilapidated. During the 19th century it was partly used as a cavalry barracks; part was given to the commune and a theatre was installed in 1844. Various piecemeal attempts at repair and restoration were made. In 1960, a major project was begun for the restoration of the exterior of the château.
The castle is the property of the commune and is now a municipal museum. It has been protected since 1961 as a monument historique by the French Ministry of Culture.

Château de Baugé

Le château d'Hodebert est un château situé sur la commune de Saint-Paterne-Racan, dans le département d'Indre-et-Loire.
Historique
François Brissonnet, écuyer, seigneur de Launay, conseiller et aumônier du roi, chanoine prébendé de la basilique Saint-Martin de Tours et prévôt d'Oë, fit ériger l'élément central de l'actuel château sur les restes arasés d'une ancienne forteresse qui fut construite dans une excavation du coteau.
En 1545, sa châtelaine, la veuve Durand, comparut devant le chapitre de Saint-Martin de Tours.
Devenu depuis le siège de la justice prévôtale d'Oë, c'est donc dans ce lieu que, le 20 novembre 1620, le poète Honorat de Bueil de Racan fut traduit pour rendre l'hommage lige à son suzerain féodal François Brissonnet. En 1650, cette châtellenie est aux mains de Henry de Codosny, seigneur de Hodebert et de Saché, maître d'hôtel du roi, conseiller en ses conseils privés, époux de Madeleine Dunoyer, fille du bailli de Saint-Christophe. À la fin du xviie siècle, il appartient à Jean du Noyer, seigneur de Gennes.
En 1794, le banquier Alexandre-Pierre-François Goüin et son épouse, Marie-Magdeleine Benoist de La Grandière (fille de l'ancien maire de Tours), l'acquierent, puis le revendent le 30 décembre 1808 à Louis-François de Sarcé.
En 1890, Eugène de Sarcé lègue Hodebert à Robert Roullet de La Bouillerie, ses descendants en sont toujours propriétaires.
Le château fait l’objet d’une inscription au titre des monuments historiques depuis le 26 octobre 2009. Le 26 mai 2018, un incendie provoqué par la foudre endommage partiellement une tour du château.
Le parc
Le parc fait l’objet d’une inscription au titre des monuments historiques depuis le 25 septembre 1944.

Château d'Hodebert

Le château de Bazouges est une ancienne forteresse bâtie dans la cité de Bazouges-sur-le-Loir au XIe siècle pour défendre le Haut-Anjou de toute velléité de la part de la Maison de Blois ou du comté du Maine. Le château fut profondément remanié au xve siècle en vue de renforcer la défense de l'Anjou lors de la guerre de Cent Ans. Le château s'élève sur les berges du Loir.
Historique
Le château de Bazouges dépendait de la sénéchaussée de La Flèche. Il marquait, à l'intérieur de l'Anjou, la limite avec la sénéchaussée de Baugé et son fief de Durtal dominé par le château de Durtal. Ses propriétaires étaient membres de la famille de Champagne. Un premier Baudouin de Champagne du xve siècle, était un important personnage du duché d’Anjou. Il était chevalier et chambellan du roi René, il représenta notamment ce roi lors d’un voyage à Venise. Il fut capitaine du Mans puis de Tours, pendant la guerre de Cent Ans contre les Anglais. Au siècle suivant, un autre Baudouin de Champagne, fut chambellan des rois Louis XII de France puis de François Ier. François Ier le nomma ambassadeur extraordinaire auprès de divers royaumes dont celui de Charles Quint.
Du XVIe au XIXe siècle, le château fut aux mains de divers propriétaires qui modifièrent la forteresse en la transformant en une demeure de plaisance et lui donnèrent progressivement la configuration actuelle
Le dernier changement de propriétaire eu lieu en 1910, lorsque le château fut acheté par Adrien Mithouard, la demeure est aujourd'hui encore propriété de ses descendants.
Description
L'entrée du château est gardée par un châtelet à deux tours ovales avec mâchicoulis. Dans l'une d'entre elles se trouve une chapelle du XVe siècle avec une belle voûte angevine. Des douves, fossés, pont-levis et un verger avec la glacière complètent la partie médiévale du château.
Plusieurs corps de logis se sont progressivement ajoutés, transformant l'ancienne forteresse médiévale en château de la Loire de la Renaissance. Dans la salle des gardes trône une impressionnante cheminée. Des salons attenants datent du XVIIIe siècle.
Des jardins à la française entourés d'eau ceinturent le château et dans le parc, se dresse un moulin seigneurial construit entre les XVe et XVIe siècles, conservé avec son bief et ses transmissions en bois.
Protection
Le château fait l’objet d’un classement au titre des monuments historiques depuis le 30 janvier 1928.
Les communs en enceinte, les moulins, la cour intérieure, la douve et l’île du château, le sol du jardin et celui du verger avec sa glacière font l’objet d’une inscription au titre des monuments historiques depuis le 28 décembre 1994.