In this five-part series, Russell Kelley will link architecture with history, tracing the evolution of the French château from the earliest stone donjons and châteaux forts of the Middle Ages, through the magnificent Renaissance châteaux built by the Valois kings in the Loire Valley upon their return from the Italian Wars, on to the châteaux de plaisance built by the Bourbon kings and queens and their court in and around Paris in the French Baroque/Classical style, and concluding with the Château du Louvre, whose history spans eight centuries.

March 2 The Châteaux Forts of the Middle Ages in the Loire Valley 

March 9 The Renaissance Châteaux in the Loire Valley

March 23 The Renaissance Châteaux of the Île-de-France

March 30 The Baroque Châteaux of the Île-de-France

April 6 The Château du Louvre

Russell Kelley is the author of The Making of Paris: The Story of How Paris Evolved from a Fishing Village into the World’s Most Beautiful City (Lyons Press, 2021), and Vice President of the Alliance Française Miami Metro. He has lived in France for nearly 30 years and has visited every château featured in this series many times since his first visit to the Loire Valley 50 years ago.