The gallery from the west bank of the Cher

Downstream on the west bank, a short path leads to the point where Chenonceau's gallery sits square across the Cher: five arches in the water, the Renaissance facade above them, and — when the river is calm — the whole thing repeated cleanly upside down. It is the picture everyone has seen and it earns the reputation; the only real variable is the water.

Be there at opening. The gates are early in summer and later in winter, and the first half hour is the difference between a mirror and a rippled surface, and between an empty bank and a queue for the spot. The Cher runs slow here, so early morning is usually glassy; wind gets up by mid-morning and takes the reflection with it.

Light: the facade takes morning sun from the east, which is another reason to arrive at opening rather than after lunch. Overcast works too — a flat white sky and a still river make an almost graphic image, and the Loire gives plenty of those days. The bank is grass and gravel and can be soft after rain, so it is flat shoes to the spot and heels only for the frame itself.