Wandering around Château de Chambord, Centre-Val de Loire, France. A tour of this stunning chateau

We visited Chateau de Chambord in the Loire Valley France in September 2023. It's a spectacular chateau with plenty to see and marvel at and we we fortunate to witness a hot air balloon taking off when we were there which added to the experience. It is a very impressive castle, especially the main staircase and the roof terraces, and should be on your list of 'chateaux that must be visited' when you are exploring the Loire Valley. Highly recommended.

Chateau de Chambord is the largest of the Loire Chateau, and also the most visited. The chateau is situated in the eastern part of the Loire Valley, a short distance east of Blois. Despite the great size of Chambord castle it is quite easy to visit. Originally built as a 'hunting lodge' for King Francois I - his 'main' royal palaces can be seen at the Château d'Amboise and the Château de Blois - Chambord is a magnificent sight both when viewed from outside and when enjoying a tour of the opulent interiors. The castle was designed and built to excel, and it does that grandly: even the Loire River is said to have been diverted to make a bit more space for its construction!

Chateau Chambord was built in the first half of the 16th century, in what is known as the 'French renaissance' style. It has a central structure, with large towers on each corner and a multitude of smaller towers and structures, which itself forms part of a larger structure - a second square that incorporates the main chateau, two further substantial corner towers, and a large enclosed courtyard. This layout suggests that the castle follows a medieval defensive structure - which it does broadly - but Chambord never played, or was intended to play, any kind of defensive role.

After the death of Francois I in 1547 the castle remained in a state of abandon for almost 100 years, at which point Gaston d'Orleans was given the castle by his brother, King Louis XIII. He started major renovation works, which were subsequently carried on by King Louis XIV who also had the immense stables built, sufficient to house the several hundred horses that were needed for a royal hunting trip.

Despite all this work and expense, Louis XIV (the Sun King) also abandoned the castle after a few years, from 1685.

Chambord castle had a couple more periods of occupation over the following century, both relatively brief, and by 1750 it was once again in a state of abandon. While the revolution spared the structure it did result in the furnishings that had been added during the renovation works to be sold, and the castle remained empty until the early 19th century.

A French military leader was then given the property by Napoleon - he died soon after and his widow sold the castle to the Duke of Bordeaux, who soon after got exiled from France. Another forty years on and Chambord was pressed into service as a hospital during the 1871 Franco-Prussian war. In the middle of the 20th century the castle passed into government ownership and was subsequently renovated.

The main body of the castle is roughly square in shape, with a large tower in each corner. There are also two symmetrical wings to the castle, each ending with a substantial tower. There are more than 400 rooms in the Chateau de Chambord and almost as many fireplaces, as well as 84 staircases.

The central staircase is one of the architectural highlights of a visit: this stone staircase rises the height of Chambord castle, and is of a 'double helix' form - this means that two 'independent' staircases are wound around each other, such that people going up the stairs will not meet those coming down.

Also on the ground floor you can see several of the grand rooms of the castle such as the hunting room and the room of the Bourbons as well as the 18th century kitchens and the collection of traditional horse-drawn carriages. On the first floor it is the beautifully furnished bedrooms that are the main attraction as well as a small chapel and oratory.

The second floor includes the incredible vaulted ceilings that incorporate the symbols of King Francois 1 as well as several exhibition rooms dedicated to hunting. From this floor you can access another architectural highlight, the ornate roof that makes Chateau de Chambord so recognisable.

At a glance the roof is symmetrical but look closer and you will see that is not the case - among the numerous towers, light wells and decorative features there are many variations from left to right.

When you reach this top level of the castle you can walk between the towers (the square towers are the tops of chimneys and the round towers are the tops of staircases) which at times is rather like walking through streets in a historic town, and admire the enormous attention to detail in the masonry work as well as lovely views across the gardens.

Thank you to:
https://www.purple-planet.com/
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