Chambord is the largest chateau in the Loire valley. The king of France - Francis 1- ordered the chateau to be built in 1519, and its construction lasted over 30 years.
The castle was rarely inhabited. In fact, the king spent barely 7 weeks there in total, comprised of short hunting visits. As the castle had been constructed with the purpose of short visits, it was actually not practical to live there on a longer-term basis. The massive rooms, open windows and high ceilings meant heating was impractical.
Also, as the castle was not surrounded by a village or estate, there was no immediate source of food other than game. This meant that all food had to be brought with the group, typically numbering up to 2000 people at a time.
As a result the castle was completely unfurnished during this period. All furniture, wall coverings, eating implements and so forth were brought specifically for each hunting trip.
My initial concerns that I'd be swallowed up by the crowds and hoards of tourists were soon dispelled. The chateau itself is huge and so are the grounds, so even if there are coachloads of visitors everyone is really spread out.
You need a good few hours to properly explore Chambord, not just the chateau (which is huge) but also the grounds. It is also possible to hire a boat but we didn't have time to do that or even to explore the forest, in spite of spending about 4 or 5 hours there.
The above photo was taken on the roof, and shows more detail of the amazing architecture.
Also, as the castle was not surrounded by a village or estate, there was no immediate source of food other than game. This meant that all food had to be brought with the group, typically numbering up to 2000 people at a time.
As a result the castle was completely unfurnished during this period. All furniture, wall coverings, eating implements and so forth were brought specifically for each hunting trip.
My initial concerns that I'd be swallowed up by the crowds and hoards of tourists were soon dispelled. The chateau itself is huge and so are the grounds, so even if there are coachloads of visitors everyone is really spread out.You need a good few hours to properly explore Chambord, not just the chateau (which is huge) but also the grounds. It is also possible to hire a boat but we didn't have time to do that or even to explore the forest, in spite of spending about 4 or 5 hours there.
The above photo was taken on the roof, and shows more detail of the amazing architecture.Francis even wanted to divert the Loire river and bring it to the foot of the castle. But faced with the enormity of the task he diverted the Cosson instead. The moat was supposed to go around the entire castle, but only the northern and eastern sides were excavated.
Above photo is the exact spot where we stopped to have lunch by the moat, as my Polish companion wanted to view the chateau while we ate the bread and cakes we bought at the bakers earlier in the morning. A few spots of rain came down but luckily the day stayed mainly dry. It was good practice for me to have to speak French all the time and he seemed to understand me, even managing to discuss politics and all sorts of subjects that I didn't realise I had enough French for.
It took us a long time to see every angle of the outside, including going up on the roof. We both took loads of photos as it was impossible to capture enough of the essence of the place or to get enough in the viewfinder at any one time. The external spiral staircase in the centre of the photo above is similar to the larger main staircase inside, except the internal staircase is a double spiral.
You have to pay to go inside, although the outside is free. I'm still not sure if we didn't miss out loads of rooms but saw plenty anyway. The following photo is of the king's bedroom.
And this is the double spiral staircase, like a DNA helix, said to have been designed by Leonardo da Vinci. We went up a staircase each and met on the next floor up. I think it was probably designed for traffic in two directions, and was no doubt necessary if there were 2000 people walking between the floors in different directions. Although maybe it was just a design thing.
The photo only shows one side of it. Although I took quite a few photos indoors I was more impressed with the external architecture. I just wish my father had lived to see it all too, as he was astounded when I took him to the Sacre Coeur in Paris, so I can just imagine the astonishment on his face experiencing Chambord if seeing the architecture of the Sacre Coeur had such a profound effect on him.
I find it incredible that this Chambord chateau was built as just a hunting lodge to be used occasionally. Chambord has 77 staircases, 282 fireplaces and 426 rooms.
After Francis I death in 1574 the castle was practically unused for about fifty years. A couple of centuries later, after the French Revolution, there were plans to demolish it. Fortunately, the castle was saved. Since the 1930's the French State has taken care of restoring and preserving it.
The estate covers 5440 hectares surrounded by a wall and is the largest enclosed forest park in Europe. It is also a national game reserve containing many types of animals living completely wild, including wild boar and deer.
Above photo is the exact spot where we stopped to have lunch by the moat, as my Polish companion wanted to view the chateau while we ate the bread and cakes we bought at the bakers earlier in the morning. A few spots of rain came down but luckily the day stayed mainly dry. It was good practice for me to have to speak French all the time and he seemed to understand me, even managing to discuss politics and all sorts of subjects that I didn't realise I had enough French for.
It took us a long time to see every angle of the outside, including going up on the roof. We both took loads of photos as it was impossible to capture enough of the essence of the place or to get enough in the viewfinder at any one time. The external spiral staircase in the centre of the photo above is similar to the larger main staircase inside, except the internal staircase is a double spiral.
And this is the double spiral staircase, like a DNA helix, said to have been designed by Leonardo da Vinci. We went up a staircase each and met on the next floor up. I think it was probably designed for traffic in two directions, and was no doubt necessary if there were 2000 people walking between the floors in different directions. Although maybe it was just a design thing.
The photo only shows one side of it. Although I took quite a few photos indoors I was more impressed with the external architecture. I just wish my father had lived to see it all too, as he was astounded when I took him to the Sacre Coeur in Paris, so I can just imagine the astonishment on his face experiencing Chambord if seeing the architecture of the Sacre Coeur had such a profound effect on him.I find it incredible that this Chambord chateau was built as just a hunting lodge to be used occasionally. Chambord has 77 staircases, 282 fireplaces and 426 rooms.
After Francis I death in 1574 the castle was practically unused for about fifty years. A couple of centuries later, after the French Revolution, there were plans to demolish it. Fortunately, the castle was saved. Since the 1930's the French State has taken care of restoring and preserving it.
The estate covers 5440 hectares surrounded by a wall and is the largest enclosed forest park in Europe. It is also a national game reserve containing many types of animals living completely wild, including wild boar and deer.
At the bus terminal in the grounds of the castle, which we had trouble locating, we met the Brazilian guy who was also staying at the same hostel in Blois. He had walked from the hostel that morning (took 1 hr 30 mins) to get into Blois town as he had missed the only bus on a Sunday, and was planning on seeing another chateau before returning, which meant also missing the last bus back to the hostel. Luckily he managed to hitch a lift on his return.
To get here by tourist bus (next to Blois station) the earliest bus you can take is about 11.15am and the last one back is about 4pm. The bus does a circuit of 3 chateaux for the same fare, so you need to retain your ticket if you are going on to the other ones and to get back to Blois.
I was due to go back to London the next day, but was glad I saw at least one chateau and didn't have the energy to finish the circuit anyway.
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