Châteaux

Published on

by Henk Bekker

in France, Paris

Visit the Palace of Versailles: Opening Hours and Ticket Prices

Latona Fountain in the Garden of the Palace of Versailles

The Palace of Versailles with its chateau and gardens is a popular day trip from Paris — opening hours are long while discount passes give savings on ticket prices for the chateau, park, gardens, the Trianon, and estate of Marie Antoinette. The Estate of Versailles with its famous château (palace), Orangerie, Trianon, formal Baroque gardens, … Read more

Transportation to Chenonceau Chateau in the Loire Region of France

Château de Chenonceau Spanning the Cher River

Driving is the best option for most visitors to Château de Chenonceau but public transportation and day-trip tours are alternatives. Getting to Château de Chenonceau on the Cher River in the Loire region of France is easiest by car but public transportation is also available with trains arriving from Tours and Bourges. Cycling is an … Read more

Visit Clos Lucé – Leonardo da Vinci’s Home in Amboise

Leonardo's dream of flight

Leonardo da Vinci spent his final three years in Amboise in a chateau now housing a museum with models of his designs. Château du Clos Lucé is a relatively small 15th-century palace in the Loire town Amboise. The chateau was the childhood home of King Francis I but much more famously the palace where Leonardo … Read more

Transportation to Château de Chambord

Bicycles may be rented at Chateau de Chambord

Getting to Château de Chambord is easiest by car but buses and especially day-trip excursions to various chateaux in the Loire valley are also available. Château de Chambord is the largest castle in the Loire region of France. As a hunting lodge, Chambord was in a forest and as this forest mostly survived as a … Read more

Visit the Gardens of Chateau de Villandry near Tours

Formal Garden and Chateau de Villandry

The Renaissance Château de Villandry is mostly visited for its magnificent ornamental gardens – famously using vegetables for colorful formal displays. Renaissance Château de Villandry near Tours in the Loire Valley is famous for its exceptional formal gardens. The ornamental kitchen garden of Villandry, where vegetables are planted to form a magnificently colorful ornamental garden, … Read more

Visiting Château de Chambord in the Loire Valley of France

View of Chateau de Chambord

Royal Chambord Castle is the largest and one of the most popular Renaissance chateaux to see on day trips in the Loire Valley in France. Originally intended as a hunting lodge for the royal court, Chateau de Chambord ballooned into the largest chateau in the Loire Valley. This Renaissance chateau is instantly recognizable by its … Read more

Brief History of Château de Chambord

Chateau de Chambord in summer

Chateau de Chambord was built by Francis I as a royal hunting lodge but became the largest Renaissance castle in the Loire Valley. The royal hunting lodge Chateau de Chambord was started in 1519 by the Valois King Francis I. It was favored by kings fond of hunting such as Henry II and Louis XIV. … Read more

Touring Chateau de Chambord’s Interior

Staircase in Chambord Castle

Chambord Castle is the largest Renaissance chateau in the Loire. Its interior is worth seeing with marvelous architecture and a few furnished rooms. Château de Chambord is the largest of the Loire castles that were the center of political power in sixteenth-century France. Visitors can see around a hundred of the 426 rooms of the … Read more