« Amid the precious garland of the Loire Valley châteaux, where the art of the Renaissance finds its finest expression in France, surrounded by landscapes sung by all the poets of the age, Chenonceau is probably the most admired and most treasured of them all. The human scale of its proportions, the ingenuity of its layout, the unique poetry of its site on a river it appears to cross with great strides, gliding from one bank to another... such beauty draws art-lovers from all over the world. »

Jean-Pierre Babelon

A reference book on Chenonceau, the Jewel of the Renaissance, the « Ladies'chateau, » which was owned successively by Diane de Poitiers, Catherine de' Medici, Louise de Lorraine, and Louise Dupin.