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)

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The Château de Serrant is a Renaissance château situated in the Loire Valley, the private residence of the Prince of Merode. The castle is 15 kilometres to the west of Angers, it is open to visitors.
History
The Renaissance château is built on the foundations of a medieval fortress. From the 14th century the castle was held by the Brie family. Charles de Brie was inspired to start modernisation early in the 16th century, but lack of funds meant the project was halted with only the North Tower completed. Ownership of the castle then changed hands several times before Guillaume de Bautru, a State Councillor, purchased the property in 1636. de Bautru restarted the construction that had been halted over a century earlier. By using Charles de Brie's original plans and the same russet schist and white tuffeau stone, de Bautru ensured that there was a continuity of design. The central halls, two wings and the South Tower were added, with Jules Hardouin Mansart completing the work of de Bautru by building the chapel.
In 1749, the estate was sold by the last surviving descendant of the de Bautru family and was bought by Antoine Walsh, a shipowner whose family were exiled Jacobites. As well as redecorating the interior of the castle, the Walsh family built an English style park, pavilions, and a monumental gate complete with the family crest.
de Merode de La Tremoille
The château eventually passed out of the hands of the Walsh family in 1830 when "Valentine Eugénie Joséphine Walsh de Serrant" married the Duc de La Trémoïlle (1764–1839). La Trémoïlle assigned Luciene Magne the task of restoring the castle and several features, including parapets and cornices, were added. The La Trémoïlle family still own the château, but in the 20th century it has been modernised with cellars and the introduction of electricity.
The current owner is are the descendants of Jean Charles, Prince de Ligne de La Trémoïlle (1911-2005), his daughter is Princesse of Merode by marriage and they are the parents of prince Emmanuel de Merode. The castle is notable for the library, stocked with 12,000 books; the vaulted halls, originally home to the kitchens; and Napoleon's bedroom, which was never used by the Emperor as he stayed at the castle for only two hours.

Château de Serrant

The Château du Plessis-Mace is a medieval building from the Middle Ages and rebuilt in the early Renaissance. This castle is located in the town of Plessis-Mace, about ten kilometers north of Angers. The Château du Plessis-Mace is the subject of a classification as historical monuments since 14 May 1962 and the site is ranked 24 February 1987.
http://www.frenchchateau.net/chateaux-of-pays-de-la-loire/chateau-du-plessis-mace.html

Château du Plessis-Macé

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

The Château d'Angers is a castle in the city of Angers in the Loire Valley, in the département of Maine-et-Loire, in France. Founded in the 9th century by the Counts of Anjou, it was expanded to its current size in the 13th century. It is located overhanging the river Maine. It is a listed historical monument since 1875. Now open to the public, the Château d'Angers is home of the Apocalypse Tapestry.
Originally, the Château d'Angers was built as a fortress at a site inhabited by the Romans because of its strategic defensive location.
In the 9th century, the Bishop of Angers gave the Counts of Anjou permission to build a castle in Angers. The construction of the first castle begun under Count Fulk III (970–1040), celebrated for his construction of dozens of castles, who built it to protect Anjou from the Normans. It became part of the Angevin Empire of the Plantagenet Kings of England during the 12th century. In 1204, the region was conquered by Philip II and the new castle was constructed during the minority of his grandson, Louis IX ("Saint Louis") in the early part of the 13th century. Louis IX rebuilt the castle in whitestone and black slate, with 17 semicircular towers. The construction undertaken in 1234 cost 4,422 livres, roughly one per cent of the estimated royal revenue at the time. Louis gave the castle to his brother, Charles in 1246.
In 1352, King John II le Bon, gave the castle to his second son, Louis who later became count of Anjou. Married to the daughter of the wealthy Duke of Brittany, Louis had the castle modified, and in 1373 commissioned the famous Apocalypse Tapestry from the painter Hennequin de Bruges and the Parisian tapestry-weaver Nicolas Bataille. Louis II (Louis I's son) and Yolande d'Aragon added a chapel (1405–12) and royal apartments to the complex. The chapel is a sainte chapelle, the name given to churches which enshrined a relic of the Passion. The relic at Angers was a splinter of the fragment of the True Cross which had been acquired by Louis IX.
In the early 15th century, the hapless dauphin who, with the assistance of Joan of Arc would become King Charles VII, had to flee Paris and was given sanctuary at the Château d' Angers.
In 1562, Catherine de' Medici had the castle restored as a powerful fortress, but, her son, Henry III, reduced the height of the towers and had the towers and walls stripped of their embattlements; Henry III used the castle stones to build streets and develop the village of Angers. Nonetheless, under threat of attacks from the Huguenots, the king maintained the castle's defensive capabilities by making it a military outpost and by installing artillery on the château's upper terraces. At the end of the 18th century, as a military garrison, it showed its worth when its thick walls withstood a massive bombardment by cannons from the Vendean army. Unable to do anything else, the invaders simply gave up.
A military academy was established in the castle to train young officers in the strategies of war. Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, best known for taking part in the defeat of Napoleon Bonaparte at the Battle of Waterloo, was trained at the Military Academy of Angers. The academy was moved to Saumur and the castle was used for the rest of the 19th century as a prison, powder magazine, and barracks.
Modern
The castle continued to be used as an armory through the First and Second World Wars. It was severely damaged during World War II by the Nazis when an ammunition storage dump inside the castle exploded.
On 10 January 2009, the castle suffered severe damage from an accidental fire due to short-circuiting. The Royal Logis, which contains old tomes and administrative offices, was the most heavily damaged part of the chateau, resulting in 400 square metres (4,300 sq ft) of the roof being completely burnt. The Tapestries of the Apocalypse were not damaged. Total damages have been estimated at 2 million Euros. According to Christine Albanel, the Minister of Culture, the expected date of completion for the restoration was the second trimester of 2009.
Today, owned by the City of Angers, the massive, austere castle has been converted to a museum housing the oldest and largest collection of medieval tapestries in the world, with the 14th-century "Apocalypse Tapestry" as one of its priceless treasures. As a tribute to its fortitude, the castle has never been taken by any invading force in history.

Château d'Angers

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").