Chambord

Former royal getaway and the largest chateau in the Loire Valley

When François I said, "Come on up to my place," he meant the Château de Chambord. Some 2,000 workers began "the pile" in 1519 and what emerged after 20 years was the pinnacle of the French Renaissance, the largest château in France’s Loire Valley. It was ready for the travels of Charles V of Germany, who was welcomed by nymphets in transparent veils tossing wildflowers in his path. Monarchs such as Henri II and Catherine de Médicis, Louis XIII, and Henri III came and went from Chambord, but none loved it like François I. The state acquired Chambord in 1932.

The château is in a park of more than 13,000 acres, enclosed by a wall stretching some 20 miles in total. Four monumental towers dominate Chambord's façade. The three-story keep has a spectacular terrace from which the ladies of the court used to watch the return of their men from the hunt. The keep also encloses a corkscrew staircase, superimposed upon itself so that one person may descend and a second ascend without ever meeting. The apartments of Louis XIV, including his redecorated bedchamber, are also in the keep.

© 2009, Wiley Publishing, Inc.