Chenonceau is the château built across a river, and nothing prepares you for how elegant that looks. A long gallery, two storeys high, spans the Cher on a row of arches, so that the building seems to float on the water, with the slow green current flowing underneath. It is called the Ladies' Castle, and the label is earned, because for centuries women shaped it. Thomas Bohier, a royal financier, began the main block around 1513, and his wife Katherine supervised the work. Then Henry II gave the château to his mistress, Diane de Poitiers, who laid out the gardens and built the bridge across the river.
When the king died in 1559, his widow, Catherine de' Medici, forced Diane out and took the château for herself. She added the gallery on top of the bridge, where she held lavish fêtes, with fireworks, masques and mock naval battles. The rivalry between the two women is one of the best-known stories in French history, and each of their gardens is still there, in a formal layout on either side of the entrance.
The château has a second claim to a place in history. During the Second World War, the Cher formed part of the demarcation line between occupied and Vichy France, and the south end of the gallery opened onto the free zone. It was used by the Resistance to help people cross, while the main entrance stayed under German control. In the First World War the gallery was turned into a military hospital.
The approach is by an avenue of plane trees, a classic piece of French garden design, and the village roads around it are quiet, rolling lanes through vines and farmland. The riding is easy: gentle curves, a decent surface and little traffic apart from the tourist season, when coaches and cars crowd the car park by mid-morning. Early morning and late afternoon give the best light, and the château is less crowded than later in the day. The wines of Touraine, light whites from Chenin Blanc and fresh reds from Cabernet Franc, are produced nearby.
Amboise, about twelve kilometres to the north-west, is the nearest large town for fuel and supplies, and Civray-de-Touraine, much closer, has a few small shops and cafés. There is a restaurant and a café at the château itself, though prices reflect the setting.