Celebrities
Here is a gallery of some of the figures who have marked the History of France
Among them, Charles VII surrounded himself with some of the region’s most famous personalities. Before leading him to his coronation, Joan of Arc freed Orleans from its English besiegers, and she has been commemorated ever since in the city on the occasion of the Fêtes Johanniques.
Another exceptional woman was Agnès Sorel, the "Dame de Beauté", whose remains lie in Loches. She was the king’s mistress and there are still doubts surrounding the circumstances of her death.
Jacques Cœur, meanwhile, was the King's financier and the most famous citizen of the city of Bourges.
Château de Blois is one of the jewels of the Loire Valley and was the birthplace of King Louis XII. He made it a Royal residence which it was to remain until the time of King Henri IV. The walls of the chamber of King Henri III still echo to the assassination of the Duc de Guise there in 1588.
François I, meanwhile, loved Amboise and brought Leonardo da Vinci to settle nearby in Le Clos-Lucé, where models of his inventions can be admired today. The Italian genius is also said to have contributed before he died to the plans for Chambord, the magnificent symbol of royal power and of the Renaissance.
Chenonceau is associated with the women who had it built and lived there. The "Château des Dames" was home notably to Queen Catherine de Medici and, before her, to her rival for the heart of King Henri II, Diane de Poitiers. On the king's death, the latter was obliged to accept the Queen’s demand that she hand over Chenonceau in exchange for Chaumont-sur-Loire. As a consolation prize, it could have been worse!
Another famed castle, Sully-sur-Loire was home to the great builder Maximilien de Béthune who borrowed the name of the estate to become the Duc de Sully, Minister to King Henri IV.
Two centuries later, Château de Valençay was bought by Talleyrand on the advice of Napoleon.
Closer to the present day, King Edward VIII of Great Britain chose Touraine for his wedding to Wallis Simpson in 1937, after giving up the throne. Château de Candé in Monts still bears testimony to this alliance that caused such a scandal.