Loire Valley and Chambord

Château de Chambord

We spent four hours driving from Mont-Saint-Michel through part of the Loire Valley to our next destination, Chambord, where we visited the famous Château de Chambord, which was just across from our hotel.

Our hotel, the Relais de Chambord

The 310-square-mile Loire Valley sits along the middle stretch of the Loire river. Abundant vineyards, fruit orchards and artichoke and asparagus fields line the banks of the river, leading to the valley being called the Garden of France.

Map: Flatiron Wines

Notable for architecture and wines, the Valley includes the historic towns of Amboise, Angers, Blois, Chinon, Montsoreau, Orléans, Saumur and Tours. 

The Loire Valley is one of the world's most well-known wine areas, producing wines with a characteristic fruitiness and fresh, crisp flavors. I had envisioned driving small country roads through lush vineyards, but not so much. 

We saw some, but not as much as I expected; We were on the turnpike much of the time

We never stopped at any of the quaint towns I had flagged to visit. And, while lovely, the fields around Chambord were not as magnificent as I expected. This was one of the few places I only planned one night, so we didn’t have much time anyway. Had we made a lot of stops, we might not have made it to the Château in time.

Field of leeks

The Valley’s architectural heritage is reflected in more than 300 châteaux built between the 10th Century and half a millennium later, including Château de Chambord. 

When French kings began constructing huge mansions in the Loire Valley, the nobility, not daring to be far from the seat of power, followed suit. Their presence in the valley began attracting the very best landscape designers. 

Chambord's formal garden

Many châteaux were built on the top of hills and some had expensive churches on the grounds or within the actual house.

Rooftop garden and a private church; Right photo: Scott Stevens

Château de Chambord is one of the most recognizable châteaux in the world because of its distinctive French Renaissance architecture, which blends traditional French medieval forms with classical Renaissance structures. The largest château in the Loire Valley, Chambord was built to serve as a hunting lodge for Francis I. It took 28 years to complete (1519-1547).

Reminiscent of a typical castle, it has a keep, corner towers and a moat

The internal layout is an early example of the French and Italian style of grouping rooms into self-contained suites, a departure from the medieval style of corridor rooms. 

The Château has 420 feet of façade, more than 800 sculpted columns and an elaborately decorated roof. 

An over-the-top design

It has 440 rooms, 282 fireplaces and 84 staircases. Four rectangular vaulted hallways on each floor form a cross-shape. Chambord's towers are close in style to minarets of 15th-century Milan, giving weight to the idea that Leonardo da Vinci was involved in the design. 

External staircase

Some elements borrowed from Italian Renaissance architecture – open windows, loggias and a vast outdoor area at the top – are less practical in cold and damp northern France. Two spectacular spiral staircases in the center ascend three floors without meeting, illuminated from above by a tower at the highest point of the Château. Some think da Vinci may have also designed the staircase.

The walls, towers and partial moat are decorative; the Château was never intended to provide any form of defense from enemies.

For show only

Château de Chambord is often compared with the skyline of a town; it has 11 kinds of towers and three types of chimneys, without symmetry, framed at the corners by the massive tower.

A mish-mash of styles, none alike

Indeed, when Francis I commissioned the construction of Chambord, he wanted it to look like the skyline of Constantinople.

The roofline and its inspiration (Constantinople, 1261); Lower illustration; The Met

The Château is surrounded by a 13,000-acre wooded park and game reserve with Red Deer enclosed 19-mile-long wall. 

Grounds

The King wanted to divert the Loire to surround Château de Chambord, but it never happened.

The Loire runs right by Château de Chambord; Left photo: Scott Stevens

Because the Château was built for short stays, it was not practical to live in on a long-term basis. The massive rooms, open windows and high ceilings meant heating was impractical.

A porcelain tiled stove for heat, high ceilings and leaded glass windows

There was no nearby village or estate to serve as a source of food other than game. Food, furniture, wall coverings, fuel, kitchen and dining supplies and so forth had to be transported for each visit, which could involve up to 2,000 people. 

A furnished bed chamber

That’s why a lot of the furniture from the era was built to be dis- and re-assembled. King Francis I spent barely seven weeks there in total, that time consisting of short hunting visits.

Hunting lodge aesthetic

As a result, the current chateau has little furniture and, for the most part, comes across as austere. 

Ornate window

It was impressive in size and from the outside, but a bit disappointing from the inside.

After Francis died in 1547, the Château was not used for almost a century and fell into decay. Finally, in 1639, King Louis XIII gave it to his brother, Gaston, who saved it from ruin by carrying out much restoration work.

In the 17th Century, King Louis XIV had the great keep restored, furnished the royal apartments and added a 1,200-horse stable, enabling him to use the Château as a hunting lodge and a place to entertain before he abandoned it in 1685. 

Square trees

In 1745, Maurice de Saxe, Marshal of France, installed his military regiment there. After he died five years later, the colossal mansion sat empty for many years.

Ornate water spout

In 1792, the Revolutionary government gutted the place, removing and selling wall paneling and floors and burning doors for warmth during the process. 

During World War I, Château de Chambord was confiscated as enemy property in 1915, but returned after 17 years of litigation. In World War II, many valuable artworks were moved from the Louvre to Chambord to keep them safe. I find that interesting, considering that it was captured during the previous war.

Flooding in 2016 damaged the grounds ...

Restored

... but not the Château itself ...

Safe and sound; Photo: Scott Stevens

The Château is now open to the public, receiving 700,000 visitors a year. Empty rooms house displays and an occasional art exhibit. When we visited, there were some modern works by Julien des Monstiers.

Art exhibit

I had booked entrance and the horse/falconry show they present. We arrived just in time for the show. 

I expected a parade of different horses with a demonstration of skills, plus some falconry demos. That is essentially what we got, but it was wrapped in some very looooong slapstick skits. 

There were some very difficult equestrian skills on display, but the silly skits were distracting. 

Jousting

And, since they were in French and undoubtedly poked fun at very French things, we lost a lot in translation. The falconry, interestingly, featured four birds, only one of which – a Peregrine Falcon – would have been used in Medieval France.

The other three were a magnificent Rüppell’s Griffon, which hails from Africa, and two New World birds – a Harris’ Hawk and a Bald Eagle. 

Harris's, Bald Eagle and Peregrine

Go figure.

Rüppell’s Griffon

As I said, our hotel, Relais de Chambord - Small Luxury Hotels of the World, was adjacent, which came in very handy when I went out at night to capture the chateau, which is lighted. 

The lights fade from white to red and back

The hotel was fine, but had only an extremely upscale restaurant, so we ended up snacking on bread and cheese in our room rather than spending inordinate time and money on a big meal. 

Taken from the hotel (that's their car)

We acquired most of the victuals when we took an afternoon drive to see the countryside and happened upon a bakery and a wine and cheese shop. We also stopped at a local dairy that had its own cheese, but it smelled of manure and super-strong cheese (a lot of French cheese is a bit ripe for me), so we moved on without purchasing anything.

It turns out that Scott dislikes upscale hotels – who knew?? And, he wasn’t impressed with the Chateau. So, he didn’t really enjoy the stay, although he did like the horse/falconry show more than I did.

Something for everyone

Trip Dates: September 4-26, 2024