Getting to Versailles with its palace (chateau) and formal gardens is easy from Paris by bus tour, cheap RER train C5 public transportation, or by car for a great day trip to a top sight in France. Getting to the Palace of Versailles from downtown Paris is easy by tour bus, train, or car making Versailles the most popular day-trip destination from Paris. RER train C5 … [Read more...]
Visit the Palace of Versailles: Opening Hours and Ticket Prices
The Palace of Versailles with its chateau and gardens is a popular day trip from Paris -- opening hours are long while discount passes allow for 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, and formal Baroque gardens and park is a popular day … [Read more...]
Save on Admission Fees with the Paris Museum Pass
Cheap Sightseeing and Monument Tickets in Paris, France The Paris Museum Pass gives huge discounts and savings on tickets to sights, monuments, palaces, and galleries including the Louvre, D'Orsay, Pompidou, and Versailles. Paris has some of the greatest museums and art galleries in the world. The Paris Museum Pass gives unlimited access to most permanent … [Read more...]
Transportation to Chenonceau Chateau in the Loire Region of France
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 option from Amboise and other towns in … [Read more...]
Visit Clos Lucé – Leonardo da Vinci’s Home in Amboise
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 da Vinci spent his final three years as the guest of the king of … [Read more...]
Transportation to Château 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 nature reserve, Chambord remains somewhat isolated from major … [Read more...]
Best Swiss Castles – Chateau de Chillon on Lake Geneva
Chillon Castle is amongst the Top Monuments and Sights in Switzerland Romantic Chateau de Chillon in Lake Geneva near Montreux is one of the top castles to see in Switzerland. This Swiss medieval fortress is a great day-trip destination to visit with children. Chateau de Chillon is a great medieval castle on a small rocky island in Lake Geneva a drawbridge length away … [Read more...]
Visit the Gardens of Chateau de Villandry near Tours
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 … [Read more...]
Visiting Château de Chambord in the Loire Valley of France
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 busy roofline that resembles the skyline of a … [Read more...]
Brief History of Château de Chambord
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. Although never fully completed, Chambord is still the largest chateau in the … [Read more...]
Touring Chateau de Chambord’s Interior
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 castle spread over three floors. The free … [Read more...]
Visitors’ Information for Chateau de Chambord
Chambord Castle has long opening hours and free admission for young visitors and children. Restaurants are unexcited but picnicking is allowed. Château de Chambord is open throughout the year with long opening hours. Tickets are sold at the castle itself with reservations only possible for some of the guided tours. The sheer size of the chateau makes visiting pleasant even … [Read more...]