Château de Saché, Musée Balzac

You're standing at the Château de Saché, one of the castles of the Loire. Don't expect a fairy-tale palace. It looks more like a stately country house, and that's pretty much what it is. The house was built from the remains of a feudal castle. Have a look around. See that round tower and the dry moats? They survive from a fortified house dating back to the twelfth century. After that, the building was remodelled again and again, from the sixteenth to the eighteenth century. Since June 1983 it has been a protected historic monument.