No other part of the world is so full of dreams as the Loire region of France. The winding rivers, the grand gardens, the châteaux themselves are all monuments of greatness - monuments to eras and egos, love and beauty long fled into the mists of the past.

Originally designed to be approached by water (passable roads were in short supply in recent centuries), the châteaux of Loire loom above the rivers like childhood fantasies. Their romance is not lessened, though, if you approach them by road.

I first visited the Loire valley in winter when the topiary gardens of the châteaux etched themselves against a pale blue sky like a Durer engraving and when I had the castles almost to myself. In autumn and spring the gardens show a different face, gold and crimson, green and white, but there are many more visitors. Summer tours of the Loire are to be avoided, for although the gardens are in full, colourful flight, each castle is packed to its gilded hilt with many thousands of adoring French who have come to revisit their heritage.

The finest châteaux in the region were built in the Renaissance period although some remain from the Middle Ages, including Langeais and the sinister Loches, full of Medieval torture instruments which children love seeing. The elegant château of Cheverny dates from the classical period (seventeenth and eighteenth centuries). Here hunting is still a pastime and you can see the hounds and also hallways of stuffed deer heads and antlers, modern trophies that match the sense of history.

In the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries châteaux were the favourite residences of the Valois, who moved their courts from place to place depending on the king's whim. Naturally they lived grandly, and the castles were places of intrigue and music, feasts and hunts, battles and many affairs of the heart.

When Henry II ascended the throne of France in 1547 he gave Chenonceaux to his mistress, Diane de Poitiers, much to the chagrin of his wife, Catherine de Medici. It was Diane de Poitiers who drew up plans for the château's fine gardens and who built the handsome colonnaded bridge across the River Cher so that she could go hunting in the forest without having the hassle of ordering a boat in which to cross the water. (Incidentally, this bridge was the scene of many an intrigue during the Second World War when the River Cher became the dividing line between Vichy and occupied France. Chenonceaux was used as a military hospital and many patients, when well enough to be moved, were smuggled across the bridge in the dead of night to an uneasy freedom.)

When poor Henry was killed by a lance thrust during a friendly tournament, the cast-off Catherine lost no time in snatching Chenonceaux back into her own hands. Diane de Poitiers was given Chaumont as the booby prize. Throughout its history the castle has been in the hands of some fascinating women, all of whom left a gentle imprint on its beautiful facade. Chenonceaux is one of the few Loire châteaux which remains in private hands; it is now the property of the Menier family, the chocolate makers.

In the museum of Villandry are a Spanish Moorish ceil and a selection of paintings by Goya.

When Francois I moved in, Amboise saw a glittering period of court life. Also influenced by Italian culture, Francois brought the great Leonardo da Vinci to Amboise and da Vinci spent the last years of his life here. Indeed, his bones are buried in the north transept of the little Chapelle St Hubert which strides the ramparts of Amboise. In the nearby fifteenth century manor house of Clos Luce, visitors can see many souvenirs of da Vinci, including models of his revolutionary machines.

At the end of the Second World War, local collaborators and members of the German High Command were hanged from the balconies of Amboise, concluding another violent episode in the extraordinary history of this château.

Incidentally, don't miss the huge spiral stone ramp in the interior of the castle - it was once used for galloping horses to the ramparts high above the river where the mounted soldiers could have first go at the enemies below the walls.

The 'new' castle, built in the fifteenth century by Louis Xl, was originally used as a grace and favour residence by those whom the King felt deserving of his reward. Because of the way the apartments within the castle are furnished, Langeais today feels the warmest and most lived in of all the older châteaux. It shows a very real picture of fifteenth century domestic life and appears surprisingly comfortable to the twentieth century eye.

Each of the Loire châteaux brings its own rewards to travellers. Some people have special favourites, others love them all. Some might prefer the extravagant gardens, others the halls and guard rooms, or the intimate bedrooms festooned with drapes and tapestries -- but all the châteaux have magic. Centuries of living, scenes of love and lust (one Tours woman, long dead, claimed her châteaux nights included rendezvous with Francois I, Pope Clement, and Emperor Charles V as well), accoutrements for the pleasure of a hunter king, feasts and feats of valour are all entombed in the pale stone walls of the châteaux.

Check opening hours of the castles. They are rarely consistent and some close during winter's darkest months. Son-et-lumière summer performances are usually at the best-known châteaux, but are often scheduled at the lesser ones as well. It is best to see them the night before a planned daytime visit, as these sound and light shows give you romantic glimpses which place in perspective a château's history. Good, comfortable shoes are an essential. Those looming stone staircases can carry you up three or four seemingly endless flights. If you are in the Loire in winter, wear twice as many clothes as you think you'll need. The stone walls make the temperature inside the castles very chilly indeed.

Buy a copy of Michelin's Green Guide to the châteaux of the Loire. It's full of historic detail, lists the contents of the rooms you'll visit, includes opening hours and nearby places of interest. shops in Australia.