This impressive castle is to be discovered on the D.943, which connects Châteauroux to Tours. It dominates the Indre valley. Built at the top of the rocky spur, it is located in a beautiful 12 hectare park and overhangs the village which develops, in the South, in its feet.
The castle, which is both a fortress and a place of residence, appears as a set of buildings (because of the variety of styles and of times) aligned on the sides of a quadrangular inner courtyard among which each of the angles is marked by a round tower according to the traditional scheme.
Today, there are only two sides remaining in their entirety: at the East, the tower of Sainte Manoulde (Sainte-Menehould's previous name) and at the West, the donjon (called (Tower) Philippe Auguste)). These two towers surround the main south lodging house, divided into two buildings, which was built around 1500.  The main lodging house was built on two floors. On the first floor, the rooms are distributed in a traditional way: the ward (where the Lord received his vassals), the room of splendor (reception of the leading hosts), the room of retreat (where slept the important guests). The apartments of the second floor were reserved for the Lord and his family.
The other buildings of the lodging house consist of the kitchens, an office, a chapel, a chamber of the doorkeepers and a pavilion.

HISTORY

Controlling the valley of the Indre and the Roman ways which cross themselves in Estrées (Saint Genou), the castle was for more than 300 years one of the places the most competed by the Realm of Aquitaine. The Lords of Palluau were powerful people exercising their authority on around thirty fiefs and had rights of high and low justice.
The first stone castle, a square fortress, was built by Foulques le Réchin (the Red-haired guy) around 1073. He donated it to Jean de Palluau, his vassal and baron of his Court.
In 1188, having reclaimed the castle from Richard Lion-Heart, Philippe Auguste made the banner of France float on the highest tower of the castle (Donjon) which carries his name.
During the Hundred year war, Palluau was taken by the Black Prince in 1356 and the castle was partially dismantled. Du Guesclin resumed it again to the English.
During the wars of religion, the castle was invaded and burned by Montgomery in 1562 then resumed by the Ligueurs in 1584. It's from this time on that Palluau begins to lose the importance which its Lords of the Middle Age had given it.
Families having successively possessed the castle: Palluau, Argy, Tranchelion, Brachet, Buade de Frontenac, Beauvillier, Montbel, De Vélard, Paco Rabanne, Capy, Norton. Since 2010, the new owner has been M.Morvan, which wants to open the castle to the public by june 2011.