a large castle like building with a walkway leading to it

As it stands today with its four facades, each in a different style, the Château du Lude is a living testimony to the evolution of French architecture from the Middle Ages to the nineteenth century. It is one of the last great castles of the Loire still inhabited by a family, whose generations have succeeded each other for more than 250 years. The origins of the Lude date back to the 10th century. The feudal motte was succeeded by a vast fortress erected on the banks of the Loir. It was built from the thirteenth to the fifteenth century.