Château de Chambord
Located in the Loire-et-Cher, France, Chateau de Chambord is well known for it's distinct French
Rennaissance archictecture, a combination of classical Italian and medieval. Although it's the
largest chateau in the Loire Valley, it was only constructed to be used as hunting lodge for King François I. It's not exactly clear who designed the original Chateau de Chambord, however, it is
believed Domenica da Cortona is the designer. Genius Leonardo da Vinci, who was a guest of King François, is believed to have been in some way involved in the initial design.
The ingenious double-helix open staircase is without doubt the architectural highlight of the chateau. Leonardo da Vinci could have designed the staircase, but there is no defenitive proof. The two helices of the staircase ascend without ever meeting. The staircase gets it's light from a sort of light house structure at the highest point of the chateau.
The castle has a 128m facade, and a fascinating decorative roof and construction started in 1519, and was completed 28 years later in 1547. The castle contains 440 rooms and it's stables allow for the accomodation of 1200 horses. The structure stands in a park surrounded by a wall 22 miles in circumference.
The castle was almost unused for nearly 50 years after King François' death in 1574. After the
French Revolution the chateau was in danger of being demolished. Thankfully this did not happen
and the French state began restorations in 1947.
Chateau de Chambord is definitely worth a visit. It's open all year long, every day.
If you would like to view the exact opening hours and directions to the chateau, then please
click here to load an information page.
Are you interested? Look at some of these great photographs of Chateau de Chambord and other beautiful French chateaux! Just click here to load the gallery.
If you plan to visit Chateau de Chambord then we wish you a fun and informative
day.
There are hundreds of other stunning castles in the Loire Valley, take a holiday to this
historical region of France and enjoy looking at it's the beauty.