After having been the stronghold of the powerful Counts of Blois and that of Charles Duke of Orléans, the Château de Blois became with Louis XII, born in Blois in 1462, the favorite residence of the kings of France for more than a century.

The wing which gives access to the courtyard of the castle was built by Louis XII, at the end of the 15th century, in the flamboyant Gothic style of the first Renaissance. The equestrian statue of the king surmounts the porch. The courtyard was at that time closed on three sides by brick and stone buildings.

Fifteen years later, François 1er rebuilt the right wing in the style of the first Renaissance but with a more marked Italian influence, in particular in the ornaments and the gargoyles of the cornice. We are immediately seduced by the magnificent ceremonial staircase. This "hors d'oeuvre" staircase (projecting from the facade) is what makes the château famous (even if it has only one screw, unlike the double-screw staircase at Chambord with which it is sometimes confused).

The exterior facade of the François 1er wing overlooks the city and has its back to the river; In the past, from the Italian boxes on this façade, one could contemplate the countryside and, in the foreground, the royal gardens created under Louis XII.

In 1626, Gaston, brother of King Louis XIII, received the Duchy of Orléans and the Château de Blois. He then commissioned the architect François Mansart to rebuild the third wing in the classical style. Above the monumental central staircase, is a double dome that creates a stunning impression of height.

At the end of these developments, which have earned the castle a great eclecticism of styles, the courtyard retains a half-open wing through which, from the old walkway, you can contemplate the Loire. Victor Hugo compared the city to a "balcony on the Loire" because of its arrangement in an arc on the side of the hills.

The Château de Blois was completely restored at the end of the 20th century. On the first floor of the Louis XII wing, six rooms are devoted to collections of paintings and sculptures from the 16th to the 19th centuries.