At the sight of dozens of castles along the meandering River Loire, it is not hard to imagine it as the setting for the fairytales of our childhood. Palaces vie with one another in beauty and opulence, reminiscent of fabulous festivities attended by nobles and princes in bursts of elegance and extravagance paced by courtly love. Woods and nature are omnipresent and still resound to the sound of hunting and the flight of game.