Sat (wet) and Sunday (better) are our last 2 days here before heading back for the ferry … Time to chateaux some illusions
First off – Chambord!
Drove a long way up the valley towards Orleans to see perhaps the largest / grandest of the Loire chateaux . However – our timing was not the best : it’s undergoing pretty major renovations which means from virtually every angle you see more scaffolding than original towers.
The interior is huge – but as Lianne observed, it was clearly designed to be impressive to visiting royalty rather than actually be a practical home. The various owners through the 16-19th centuries ( inc Louis XIV) seem to have only spent a few weeks here each , as a base for hunting. The architecture is unusual in that the original design had no specific ‘front’ – it was a symmetrical square shape , centered around a double helix spiral staircase . Basically you walk up a limestone DNA strand to go upstairs – which is a novelty.
…and 3 more for good measure.
Sunday being theoretically drier, we went for a cycle tour to take in Amboise, Chaumont , and Chenonceau . ( Foot note – these are all very pretty chateaux. We did however notice a local village called Le Chiteau – presumably a really disappointing example of that style 😉).
At over 70km / 45 miles, it was a new daily record for us – but pretty gentle terrain and great cycle routes meant it was not too hard. Amboise is a real fortress in the middle of a very touristy town, Chaumont was hard to see really as it’s enclosed in trees and up a steep slope from the Loire …. And Chenonceau was definitely the most photogenic ( for photographers who refuse to pay entrance fees). You can sneak around the far side of the Cher river and get excellent views of it from both sides …as we did.
So that’s about it for now. Campsites are mostly closed by the end of Sept so it’s about time we headed back. Might squeeze in a visit to the Bayeux tapestry before we hit the ferry on Wednesday night.
Wow! 45 miles, well done, that’s a real long way in a day! I bet you’re feeling it now. With over 300 chateaux along the Loire Valley it looks like you’ve chosen very wisely, judging by those lovely photos and you can certainly see why they ended up with a revolution when you compare the “have” and “have nots” back then. I think our current UK top knobs are using that inequality as a benchmark for their own ambitions! Can’t believe you’re on your way home already, we will miss your roving reports. If you do get up to Bayeux for the Tapestry, which is interesting to see, don’t forget there are also some great museums and memorials for D-Day close by.
Let them eat tax cuts !
Really impressing 70 km on 1 day. The chateaux look very impressing. Maybe you can go make replica’s when the both of you are really old.
Lovely pics and a good storytelling Jonathan.
Enjoy your last days before you return to good old Engeland.
Brought back some memories of our holiday in the Loire many years ago. We did pay some entrance fees at the time, but unlike most of our own National Trust Houses, most of the Chateaux are empty, devoid of furniture. Interesting to go round but I don’t think you missed out hugely by not going inside.
Chambord was good in terms of furnishings, but that was enough really !
Mysteries of the Bayeux Tapestry an interesting watch in BBC4 iplayer – pedantic historian alert – it’s the Barking embroidery – probably.
There did some to be a school of thought that it was BRITISH artwork….;-)