After having twice turned back from visiting Chateau Chambord when I’d already reached its gates, I decided to make my third and final attempt at visiting this biggest and most majestic of the numerous fabulous chateaus in the beautiful Loire Valley.
The frontal facade of the Chambord Chateau, with the moat in the foreground. The architecture is what one expects of a typical castle – an inner keep surrounded by corner towers and a moat. Taken with a Canon EOS 7D Mark II with EF-S 18-135mm f3.5-5.6 IS STM kit lens. Photo credit: John Tan.
Why two unsuccessful attempts?
Well, my first attempt at visiting Château de Chambord was during the summer holidays back in school when I cycled 16km from Blois only to suffer an accident right in front of the castle.
One of many beautiful chandeliers in Chambord Chateau. Taken with a Canon EOS 7D Mark II with EF-S 18-135mm f3.5-5.6 IS STM kit lens. Photo credit: John Tan.
I had to satisfy myself with some quick snapshots of the front of the Chateau before bidding goodbye to the chateau.
Decades later, I brought my family with two kids on a self-drive vacation to the chateaus in the Loire Valley.
By the end of the week and more than half a dozen chateaus later, we arrived again at the gates of the Chambord Chateau in the mid afternoon.
By then, the kids were so tired out from our earlier exertions of that day that they were so totally knackered we couldn’t bear to wake them from their sleep in the car.
And to be honest, my wife and I were up to our ears in chateaus by that time.
So my wife and I snapped the obligatory snapshots of each other posing with the (equally majestic) rear facade of the chateau within a stone’s throw of where our car was parked.
Enjoy a horse carriage ride on the extensive grounds of the Chambord Chateau. Horse lovers can also watch twice daily equestrian shows at the chateau. Taken with an Olympus OMD-EM5 Mark II with M.Zuiko ED 12-40mm f2.8 PRO lens. Photo credit: KoolKat.
More than half a decade on, we’re on this self-drive holiday to the Dordogne and lo-and-behold, Chambord Chateau temptingly stood out on the map exactly mid-way on our drive from the Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris to our first stop in the Dordogne in the south west of France.
The intricate roofs of the keep of Chambord Chateau. The “Grainy Film” filter was used on the camera to give it a dramatic and gritty effect. Taken with the Olympus OMD-EM5 Mark II with M.Zuiko ED 12-40mm f2.8 PRO lens. Photo credit: KoolKat.
So I decided to attempt a third and final visit to the chateau.
When we finally arrived, we thought we were going to be third-time-unlucky as it was drizzling and the skies were overcast!
The double-helix staircase at the centre of the keep in Chambord Chateau. Probably designed by Leonardo da Vinci, the two helices rises three storeys but never meet. People from the two stairs can see each other through small openings but never meet. Taken with a Canon EOS 7D Mark II with EF-S 18-135mm f3.5-5.6 IS STM kit lens. Photo credit: John Tan.
Fortunately, the skies cleared up and we had the most fantastic weather to visit the chateau!
We had the most enjoyable visit and the kids loved it!
Here are some information about Chambord Chateau extracted from Wikipedia.
For a detailed description of the chateau, do check out the full article in Wikipedia.
Central tower of Chambord Chateau. The “Grainy Film” filter was used on the camera to give it a dramatic and gritty effect. Taken with the Olympus OMD-EM5 Mark II with M.Zuiko ED 12-40mm f2.8 PRO lens. Photo credit: KoolKat.
The royal Château de Chambord at Chambord, Loir-et-Cher, France, is one of the most recognisable châteaux in the world because of its very distinctive French Renaissance architecture which blends traditional French medieval forms with classical Renaissance structures.
The chateau was built in the 16th century by King Francis I of France as a hunting lodge.
The design of the chateau was attributed to Domenico da Cortona although it is generally recognised that Leonardo da Vinci was also involved, especially for the double-helix design of the central staircase in the chateau.
At that time, Leonardo da Vinci was living as a guest of Francis I at Clos Lucé in Amboise nearby in the Loire Valley.
Apparently, Chambord Chateau was the inspiration for the Beast’s castle in the 1991 animated Disney film Beauty and the Beast.
Tags: 7D Mark II, Canon, Chambord, chateau, EM5 Mark II, EOS, France, France 2015, holiday, Loire, Olympus, OMD, photography, photos, potd, travel, travel tech, vacation