Chenonceaux

French Renaissance château in the département of Indre-et-Loire, east of Tours, on the River Cher. The building was begun in 1515 by Thomas Bohier, a tax collector. In 1560 a long gallery, which crosses the River Cher, was added by Philibert Delorme. The château, confiscated by Francis I in 1535, was given by Henry II to Diane de Poitiers, from whom it was forcibly taken by Catherine de Medici in exchange for the château of Chaumont. Chenonceaux later belonged to the Vendôme and Bourbon-Condé families. It is now open to the public.