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Loire Valley Châteaux

Best loire valley castles

The community has spoken. Discover the world ranking, compare it to yours and see how everyone else voted.

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34contenders high-voltage

979votes

11TopList

0commentsUpdated on 08/24/2026 at 05:00 AM

Château de Talcy1373

The worldwide ranking generated by 979 votes

34 / 34

Château de Talcy1373

Château de Chambord1310

Château de Chenonceau1292

Château d'Amboise1292

Château de Saumur1268

Château de Cheverny1265

Château de Chamerolles1248

Château de Challain1240

Château de Sully-sur-Loire1239

#10

Château d'Ussé1225

#11

Château de Chaumont-sur-Loire1222

#12

Château de Montigny-le-Gannelon1220

#13

Château de Montreuil-Bellay1214

#14

Château de Fougères-sur-Bièvre1210

#15

Château de Valençay1200

#16

Château de Brissac1198

#17

Château d'Azay-le-Rideau1198

#18

Château de Troussay1195

#19

Château de Goulaine1192

#20

Château d'Angers1190

#21

Château de Villandry1184

#22

Château de Beauregard1183

#23

Château de Blois1182

#24

Château du Rivau1176

#25

Château de Châteaudun1173

#26

Château du Rivau1171

#27

Château Gaillard, Amboise1158

#28

Château du Clos Lucé1135

#29

Royal Fortress of Chinon1132

#30

Château de Tours1128

#31

Château de Langeais1123

#32

Château de Montrésor1096

#33

Château de Brézé1094

#34

Royal City of Loches1074

What the community says

Château de Talcy leads with an ELO of 1,373, ahead of Château de Chambord (1,310) and Château de Chenonceau (1,292). Ranked over 979 duels between 34 contenders, last updated August 24, 2026.

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How this ranking is computed

Every duel won lifts a contender and every loss drops them, by an amount that depends on the opponent's strength: beating the leader is worth more than beating the last. It is an ELO, the same principle as in chess. Duels are not drawn at random — an adaptive entropy sort puts the least predictable match-ups first, which settles the ranking far faster than a full round robin. A worldwide ranking is only published past 30 completed plays. Known limit: a contender who has faced few opponents keeps an approximate score, and the bottom of the table moves more than the podium.