Chateau de Chambord

Upon arrival at this chateau, you are immediately impressed with it's size and the intricacy of the rooftop.  This is a UNESCO World Heritage Site as well.  It was built by King Francois I as a hunting lodge while he lived in Blois and Amboise. 

During the reign of the King, the rooftop chimneys were painted in gold and a deep royal blue.  The chateau was never completely finished, but it is so imposing and dramatic just the way it is.

There is a stunning balcony where you can walk among the turrets and admire the views.

Francois I wanted the rooftop to look like the skyline of Constantinople. 

During WWII, the Louvre hid paintings here from the Germans for safe keeping.  The Germans were confiscating all private collections of art from private citizens such as the Rothchilds, and stealing from the museums.  Hitler wanted to create his own museum with all the art from all over Europe, put many of his generals kept priceless works of art for themselves.

These impressions are from a vaulted, barrel ceiling in which these symbols cover the entire surface.

Many of the chimneys have been taken down and are in the process of being refurbished as shown here in this room.

The chateau boasts a double helix staircase in which there are two entrances on each floor on opposite sides.  Two people can walk the staircase at the same time and never meet, but see each other through windows in the middle of the staircase.  

The Chateau was ransacked during the revolution and all the furniture was burned or stolen.  It was one of our favorite chateaus.  It was well organized, great parking, nice little cafes (I had the best tuna sandwich there) and great bathrooms.

The Royal Fortress of Chinon

 After we left the Chateau d"Usse, we headed down the road to Chinon.  Chinon is a medieval town and fortress that is captivating.  The town itself is so picturesque with lots of restaurants, shops, and hotels.  This is the entrance to the fortress, we almost missed it.

 This is the tower that Joan of Arc rode her horse through to visit Charles VII in 1429 and convinced him to give her an army to fight the English.  Joan of Arc's story is very interesting and is worth a read.

 The fortress overlooks the medieval town that is very picturesque and inviting. 

 You can go through the castle and they show a film of the history, unfortunately, it is a very slow moving film and I felt bored.  Also, it is not in English, so I couldn't understand the speaking parts, but there were few.  I do think it was well done, just too slow for me.

 You take an elevator from the fortress down into the town and we found the town was so beautiful.

The river front is full of cute shops and we found the most delicious chocolate shop.  I love the bright colors of this floral shop, I would have loved to have bought something there. The street is lined with majestic old trees that provide shade on a hot day.  I definitely recommend going here for a day of sightseeing, shopping and lunch. 

The Gardens of Chateau Villandry

Chateau Villandry is known for its gardens.  There are many different kinds of gardens that are laid out in a visually pleasing design.  There are tree covered and arched vine covered pathways. A beautiful canal runs through the garden providing picturesque balconies and bridges. 

View of gardens from the chateau.  There is a knot garden, a vegetable garden, water garden and a park like garden.

They plant over 150,000 vegetables each year.  It is amazing to see all the different varieties of lettuce, tomatoes, bell peppers, pumpkins, etc grown in this beautiful setting.  The gardens are completely organic with no pesticides in use.

The chateau itself is still owned by the same family and is lived in by the current heir.  The family is of Spanish decent, the chateau is lovely, but the artwork is dark and somewhat creepy at times.

The chateau has a moat and there are great big koi in it. 

Some of the creepy art I was talking about.  At first, I thought this was some weird looking baby, but upon reading the description, it is a dwarf.  All of the art was very dark, but the subject matter was really weird at times too.

This beautiful, intricately carved ceiling was a highlight in the chateau. 

Chateau D'Ussé

above picture by francisco 

Panoramio

Chateau d'Usse

We almost didn't go to this beautiful little chateau.  We were told that it was cheesy (and a certain part of it was), but we also really liked it.  It claims to be the chateau that inspired the Sleeping Beauty story, and that's the somewhat cheesy part.  As you go through the tower above, they have set up scenes from Sleeping Beauty behind glass and it is somehow off putting.  If the glass wasn't there, I would have felt more engaged and liked it better.

The chateau also has furnished rooms with mannequins in period costumes.  The mannequins are quite nice and I liked this aspect of the tour.  You could wander freely into the rooms and no glass to keep you out.  It is a beautiful little chateau on pretty grounds along a river. I am so glad we went.

This is the chapel used by the family, but also by the town at one point.  It is pretty inside too.

The gardens had just been planted on the terraced grounds.  I'm sure they will look gorgeous when they flower.

You could also go through some caves that had been turned into a wine cellar and storage for farm equipment.  It was interesting, and at least 20 degrees cooler than the outside. 

Worthy of a visit.