In the middle of the Loire valley, Tours is the gateway to the world of classical Renaissance chateaux. A theatrical setting where everything conspires to stretch the limits of your imagination.

At nightfall, the chateau of Azay-le-Rideau dons its bright lights and wraps itself in music. Trompe-l'oeil images of Renaissance gardens are projected into the shadows of the park. The illusion takes hold. Little by little, you are drawn into a dream world inhabited by monarchs, courtiers and servants.

There is just a short step between fairy tales and comic books. The chateau of Cheverny, the inspiration for the famed Marlinspike, will carry you off to Tintin and Captain Haddock's world. An authentically three-dimensional book, this exhibition breathes life into Hergé's central settings and characters, and is unwaveringly faithful to the stroke of the master's pen.

Once past the gates of the chateau of Villandry, the Loire Valley fades away. Welcome to China. And to the Bonheur de Chine show, by the Chinese painter, Fanfan Li, whose paintings are executed with meticulous care, using ancestral techniques for obtaining colors from precious minerals.