Montresor

Montresor lines the Indrois below a chateau whose medieval curtain wall, built by Fulk Nerra's men, encloses a Renaissance lodging. In 1849 the estate was bought by Xavier Branicki, a Polish count and financier close to Napoleon III, and it has stayed with his descendants; the interiors are consequently full of Polish portraits, hunting trophies, gilded furniture and paintings largely untouched since the nineteenth century, which is unusual in a country where most such houses were emptied. A Polish community grew around it. Below, a riverside walk called the Balcons de l'Indrois looks back at the village, and a large sixteenth-century collegiate church holds carved tombs.

What you actually see

• The chateau interiors - a Polish family's nineteenth-century rooms left intact.
• The medieval curtain wall - eleventh-century defences around the Renaissance lodging.
• The Balcons de l'Indrois - a riverside path facing the village.
• The collegiate church - Renaissance building with carved tombs.

When to go

April to October; the chateau closes for winter. The village is among the quieter plus beaux villages and rarely feels crowded even in August.

Honest expectations

The chateau is privately lived in and shown in part, with a slightly faded feel that is either charming or shabby depending on taste. The village is very small. A car is needed.

Nearby

Loches lies west; the Loire chateaux are north.