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Trois Chateau, une day!

lindaglamour
May 25, 2016
2 min read

For an historian, visiting the chateaux of the Loire Valley is an amazing experience. While my interest has always been more on the other side of the Channel, the links between France and Great Britain are visible here in the Loire. From the Norman conquest to Henry VIII meeting with Francis II on The Field of Cloth of Gold to WW2 the indelible links can be seen and felt as one walks the passages of the chateau.

I started with the 'big one' Chateau Chambord. Nothing can prepare you for the jaw dropping moment of driving through the National Park of Chambord and capturing one's first glimpse of the chateau appearing out of the forest. Leonardo da Vinci designed the double helix central staircase of Chambord. Intricate and intriguing, a couple can go up and down the staircase, see each other yet never meet.

The second Chateau was Cheverny. This chateau is far more habitable than Chambord and indeed, the family who own Cherveny still live in one wing of the building.

The wedding dress on display was recently worn and photographs of the event sit on the piano and mantlepiece. While I didn't say for the feeding of the hounds (quite an event I'm told) I did enjoy wandering through and admiring the beautiful interiors. I could see myself living here!

The third Chateau was the most beautiful of all - Chenonceau. It has a history of being looked after and loved by women owners - from Diane de Poitiers to Catherine Medici amidst others those these two famous women are also remembered by gardens named for them in the chateau grounds. Chenonceau is made even more beautiful by being a bridge that straddles a river so the sound of water and the lush greenery it provides is seen and heard from every room.