Situated in the heart of Touraine, in the Loire Valley, Azay-le-Rideau was built during the reign of François I by a rich financier wishing to establish his brand-new title of nobility. A small gem of the first stirrings of the French Renaissance, decorated with carved stone lacework, the château was embellished over the centuries by succeeding generations, with an entrance inspired by that of Vaux-le-Vicomte and an English-style landscaped garden. Yet it never lost its harmony. Still today, Azay “bathes in the Indre River like a princely creature” (Honoré de Balzac).