What are your favourite Loire Valley castles ?

[Maciamo]

There are over 50 touristic castles in the Loire Valley. The most famous are of course Chambord (the biggest), Cheverny (the inspiration for Marlinspike Hall, aka Moulinsart in Tintin), Chenonceau (the most romantic ?), and Azay-le-Rideau (the forerunner of the French Renaissance châteaux). But they are not necessarily those that befit one's tastes. My personal favourite are :

1) Chaumont-sur-Loire
2) Ussé
3) Valencay

I think that the castles of Angers, Chenon and Saumur are overrated and only owe their popularity to their convenient location inside the town or city of the same name.

Azay-le-Rideau is nice, but is far from being exceptional. It is famous because it was one of the very first castles built in the Renaissance style. If you only care about how it looks, it wouldn't be in the top 10 - maybe not even the top 20.