The château of Villeneuve-Lembron is a manor house built on the cusp of the 15th and 16th centuries. The building reflects the transitional period between the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, standing testament to the importance and wealth that the lord of Villeneuve had obtained through royal favour.
Rigaud d’Aureille (circa 1450-1517), Baron of Villeneuve, was an important figure who enjoyed immense privilege. He was sovereign master of the hotel of the king, was a trusted confidant of the royal family, and was assigned diplomatic missions. The property, which he commissioned on a separate site from the former family manor house where he was born, is an imposing quadrilateral structure flanked by vast towers and encircled by deep moats. The lord also commissioned paintings of himself to adorn the walls, featuring small texts on morality or satire.
In the early 16th century the Villeneuve estate, which was now a Barony, passed to the Montmorin family. Gaspard de Montmorin embellished the château with sumptuous painted décor, some examples of which can still be seen today in the formal hall and large stables.
In 1643, Villeneuve-Lembron was acquired by Isaac Dufour, Treasurer of France, who transformed the interior courtyard, created a portico gallery, and decorated the ceilings and fireplaces on the first floor. His descendants, who remained owners of the château until the end of the 18th century, subsequently passed it on to Pélissier de Féligonde, who retained it until 1919.
The Château was listed as a Historic Monument on May 25th, 1926.
The last owner, Georges Tixier, left it to the French state in 1937. The state then began restoration work on the property. It is currently managed by the Centre des monuments nationaux.
http://www.chateau-villeneuve-lembron.fr/en/Explore/History-of-the-monument

Château de Villeneuve-Lembron

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The Chateau de Parentignat was built on the foundations of an old fortress between 1707 and 1720 by the Marquis Francois de Lastic, a regiment captain in the royal infantry, and has remained in the hands of the same family throughout its history. 
The Chateau is renowned for its English landscape gardens, which can be viewed from a terrace lined with hundred-year orange trees and heirloom roses. These gardens pose a delightful contrast to the more formally planted lawns of the reception court, six of which have been restored to their original grandeur, along with the avenue of lime trees leading to the chateau's entrance. 
Already celebrated in the 18th century as one of the most exquisitely furnished homes in the region, Parentignat was dubbed "the little Versailles of Auvergne" by Henri Pourrat, a noted local man of letters. Fortunate to survive the French Revolution completely intact, the Chateau boasts a large collection of its original furniture. 
Each generation of owners has continued to enhance Parentignat's exceptional collection of art. The collection includes a number of impressive paintings, sculptures and tapistries by the great artists of their times, among them works by Nicolas de Largillierre, Carl Van Loo, Hyacinthe Rigaud, Madame Vigee Lebrun, Claude Lorrain, Coysevox, Pujet, and many others.
http://www.chateaux-france.com

Château de Parentignat

With 360° views of the Volcano Natural Park and the Monne valley, overlooking the village from which it takes its name and opposite the Romanesque church, this 13th century fortress was transformed into a seignior’s residence in the 15th and 16th centuries. The last direct descendants of the founders were Queen Catherine de Médicis and her daughter Marguerite de Valois, who gave the château to the future King Louis XIII in 1605. It is a haven of peace bathed in history and today welcomes you to its charming and extremely comfortable guest accommodation comprised of 3 suites and 2 rooms. 4 ha of grounds.
http://www.bienvenueauchateau.com/en/chateau-royal-de-saint-saturnin/

Château de Saint-Saturnin

The Château de Murol is a castle overlooking the town of Murol in the département of Puy-de-Dôme in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes région, France.
History
The first castle was built on a basalt outcrop in the 12th century to provide surveillance over several roads. It was reinforced in the 14th century by Guillaume de Sam, who built the keep, a second chapel and the eastern buildings.
The castle became the property of the d'Estaing family when the sole heir, Jehanne de Murol, married Gaspard d'Estaing in the 15th century. The castle was richly decorated and, under François I d'Estaing, in the 16th century it was surrounded by a huge curtain wall with towers. Emerging unscathed from the sieges during the Catholic League, the castle was transformed when Jean d'Estaing built a more comfortable Renaissance pavilion at the foot of the inner castle. The castle was later abandoned.
Although he ordered the destruction of numerous castles and fortresses, Richelieu spared Murol thanks to the prestige of the d'Estaing family and their influence in the French court. After being used as a prison for many years, it eventually became a bandits' hideout during the Revolution. During the 19th century, it fell to ruin and local inhabitants pillaged the site for stone; its classification as an historical monument (it has been listed as a monument historique by the French Ministry of Culture since 1889) helped to save it and it is now the property of the commune of Murol.
Present day
The castle has been developed as an important tourist site in recent years. The Compagnons de Gabriel organise guided tours and son et lumière shows designed to give a genuine view of life in a medieval castle. Displays of medieval martial arts are given in the lower courtyard.
Entrance through the outer curtain wall is by a fortified gatehouse in the south. The Renaissance Pavilion is in the outer courtyard. Though dilipated, the facade still shows ancient mouldings and pilasters. The inner castle, to the north, boasts 10 m (33 ft) high walls, built on a basalt base. Next to the keep, connected to a smaller tower by a curtain wall, are the two chapels, the older from the 13th century and the other 15th century. A ramp leads to a door, decorated with the arms of the Murol and d'Estaing families, that gives access to the inner courtyard. Still visible are the remains of a gallery, the kitchen, a bakery and several outbuildings.
The curtain walls can be reached up a spiral staircase and it possible to walk all round the ramparts. From the top of the keep the view extends over the town of Murol, the Couze Valley, Lake Chambon, Monts Dore and the Tartaret volcano.

Château de Murol

In 1450, we can distinguish the Murol fortified house on a Guillaume de Revel drawing, in the Armorial. Thus, there are 3 fortified houses in Saint-Amant-La-Cheyre. That of Murol, shelters within its walls the church of the village. The orignal settlers are Murol lords who also own the great castle of Murol au Chambon.
Several families from Auvergne became owners up to XIXth century: weddings, successions, takeovers result in the transfer of the fortified house from the Murol to the ownership of Damas d’Aubière, Canillac. On November 1586, Henri IV send his turbulent wife, Queen Margot, into exile in the Usson castle, near Issoire. She is escorted by the Marquis of De Canillac, where she stays a few days. 
From the XVIIth century, Bouchard, then La Tour Fondue families follow each other in the head of Murol; these changes consequently cause numerous restorations.
The most important occurs between  1865 and 1900  when the last owner, Anatole de La Tour Fondue, transforms the fortified house into neo-gothic chateau with the help of the architect Bruyère, student of Viollet Le Duc school: elevation, door openings, windows and loopholes, stone decorative ornaments outside (bridges, gargoyles) and inside (tents). And all of this, in privatizing the church that the castle no longer share with the village.
It is in this unfinished restoration condition that the Giscard d’Estaing family buy the chateau in 1921 to their La Tour Fondue cousins and remain now the owner.
http://www.murolensaintamant.com