Château de Plessis-lez-Tours, Royal castle in La Riche, France.

Château de Plessis-lez-Tours is a castle in La Riche built from brick and stone with International Gothic features. The rectangular structure is the only remaining piece of a once-larger royal residence located near Tours.

A French king acquired the property in 1463 and made it his preferred residence, remaining there until his death in 1483. This royal occupation established the building as an important seat of power in the Loire region.

Louis XI installed the first silk workshop in Tours inside the château, staffed by seventeen workers he brought from Italy. Saint Francis of Paola, his confessor, lived here until his death and founded the first Minim convent in France on the site. The room where the king died keeps its late 15th-century linenfold panelling, and the first floor displays paintings and sculpture devoted to Saint Francis.

Only the eastern wing survives, so the visit is short; allow time to examine the brick-and-stone facade and the slate dormers. The room where Louis XI died, with its 15th-century linenfold panelling, and the iron prisoner cages are inside. The site is in La Riche, just outside Tours.

The first brick building in the Loire Valley, it was erected with masons from Béthune under Charles VII and Louis XI. Louis XI installed Tours' first silk workshop here, bringing seventeen workers from Italy once the works were finished.