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Here you’ll find travel reports about Chambord. Discover travel destinations in France of travelers writing a travel blog on FindPenguins.

17 travelers at this place:

  • Joel BaldwinEuropean Odyssey
    Day426

    Day 427: Chateaus of the Loire Valley

    April 17 in France

    Gorgeous weather today, time to explore the Loire Valley world heritage site! Basically, there's a 200km stretch of the Loire (France's longest river) that's lined with immense chateaux, vineyards, old towns and other beautiful buildings. It's an incredibly "French" part of the country, and we were both looking forward to the day.

    First stop was Castle Chambord, the largest of the chateaus and the one that started the trend. It was built in the early 16th century by King Francis I, and is situated in some immense grounds as well. It's got a fantastic look to it, with turrets, a keep, bastions and even a moat - but it's all for show, the walls aren't thick and would never stand up to an assault. But it's an interesting halfway point between medieval castles and Renaissance palaces.

    Next we drove downriver (via the town of Blois and its Feuilette branch!), to another chateau known as Chenonceau. This is probably the most famous, and was actually only recently added to the WH list as a boundary modification to the existing site. It's famous as a small chateau that is extended out over the Cher river, a tributary of the Loire. We opted for the tour here (we'd skipped the Chambord one), and were glad of it.

    You couldn't see anything from the carpark anyway! But we spent a couple of hours wandering around here, very impressed with everything. It was home to Catherine de Medici when she was Queen Regent of France, and ruled the country from the study inside the chateau. The gardens were also great as well, as the flowers were blooming and the grass was very green. It was very crowded though, and we were both fearful of what it must be like in summertime.

    We ended up taking quite a bit longer here than expected, so in the end we decided to call it a day. I've got footage (though no talking) for a couple of other chateau buildings in the area, so plenty of material for the video.

    All in all, a great day!    Read more

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  • PAUL HANCOCKGermany and France
    Day7

    Chambord

    June 19 in France

    We stopped for breakfast on our way out of town at the Bigot patisserie. This is on the corner of where we ate dinner the previous two nights. Abbie had been eyeing this place since we arrived and told me at dinner last night that we were going to destroy this place in the morning; and we did try.
    I had this incredible ham and onion omelette... and water. The omelette was very tasty. I miss ice and sweet tea.
    Afterwards, we had some decisions to make. We had plenty of options. I was good and bought one chocolate macaroon for later. Abbie's willpower was not so great. But hey, you have to take advantage before you get back to the land of Hershey's milk chocolate. I took pictures of the chocolate and bread displays but since this app charges for me to add only 6 pics per post, you will have to take my word for it.
    Next stop, the chateau at Chambord. We followed the Loire river NW. The river was high and moving swiftly. I've never seen it before, but it looked like it was higher than normal.
    The size of Chambord dwarfs the other three Chateaus that we saw. Construction began in 1519, the year Da Vinci died. Da Vinci designed the double-helix staircase that is at the center of this place.
    Apparently, this is an engineering feat. There are two entrances opposite each other with no post down the middle. If one were to enter each side and start climbing, they would never meet. They would see each other however in the cutouts of the wall if they kept equal pace.
    It had another kitchen with a fireplace bigger than any closet I've ever had.
    And the salamander king, Francois, has his emblem and initials all over this place, including the ceiling.
    I've also noticed that each chateaux has a chapel. This one is different because it has fabric in the walls and ceiling as opposed to decorative stone.
    And of course they loved their gardens.
    I tend to like the outside of these buildings better and this one is no exception. The roof line, glass, and spires at Chambord were impressive.    Read more

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  • Goat and Ham's adventureHoneymoon tandem
    Day20

    Chambord - chateau of all chateaus

    August 19, 2016 in France

    Known as THE chateau but probably because it's so flipping enormous! It has 2 intertwining staircases that spiral up the centre of the keep which apparently might have been designed by Leo da Vinci (although no one knows that). The chateau grounds are vast and cover an area of forest around the size of Paris! Crazy! Also interestingly they slept in really short beds back then. Have humans grown a lot in the last few hundred years?!

    Highlight of the day, however, was the free biscuit tasting at the in-house Biscuiterie. Here, we managed to consume a decent breakfast (starting conspicuously, gradually gaining confidence once we realised no one was watching how many you took) and naturally went back for seconds a few hours later.

    Attached is a photo of how to make eating the same food for many consequtive days actually look quite appealing!    Read more

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  • Brad and Mandy PearceThree months in Europe
    Day67

    Loire Valley

    September 8, 2017 in France

    Snapshot
    Where - Chateau de Chambord
    Weather - can't remember - not raining

    We stayed in a place in the Loire Valley, where all the Chateaux are. I mention this because the host had a genuine gypsy caravan in her front yard that they had restored. (She rents it out too if there was a third person in the group). Very colourful!

    There are many Chateaux in the Loire Valley but we decided we would only visit one - Chateau de Chambord - mainly because of you have seen one chateau, you have seen them all. We also had to get to the accommodation in the Bordeaux area by 6pm as the host had to go to work.

    The chateau, like most of these large old buildings, rely on being open to the public to help pay for the upkeep on the property. This one had beautiful manicured gardens, a central double helix staircase, and enormous rooms that would have been almost impossible to heat. It was nice, but I think one was enough.

    We are deciding to slow things down a bit now as we have been on the go for two months now and can't keep up the pace. I got a bit of a sore throat but didn't really eventuate into anything much, but Brad got more of a heavy head cold and sinus making him feel a miserable. On top of that he desperately needed a haircut so he managed to get that as well as the necessary medications to make him feel a bit better. For the next little while at least, we shall just be doing scenic drives as we head to the Pyrennes.    Read more

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  • ConstanceParlons-nous français
    Day18

    Schnell durch 400 Zimmer !

    July 10 in France

    Mit großem Bedauern verlassen die Kinder den Campingplatz. Der See war toll und einen Pool gab es auch. Unsere nächste Fahrstrecke ist ca 300 km lang, fast schon ein Katzensprung zu den 500 km von gestern. Da es einen kleinen Temperatursturz gegeben hat, ist die Fahrt etwas erträglicher. Carlotta freut sich überschwenglich über ein neues Schloss auf unserer Reise - das Chateau Chambord. Eines der größten und eindrucksvollsten Schlösser ganz Frankreichs. Der Rest der Kinder ist mittelmäßig begeistert in Erwartung unseres Besuches dort. Ganze 400 Zimmer soll dieses Schloss besitzten. Carlotta gerät in Panik, wie viel Zeit wir wohl für unseren Besuch brauchen? Hoffentlich genug!
    Die Anfahrt zu diesem riesigen Schloss ist atemberaubend, riesig, übermächtig, prunkvoll, mehr ist mehr. Verwöhnt durch unseren Alleingang im ersten Schloss Rochepot unserer Reise in der Bourgogne fällt es uns etwas schwerer, die Schönheit des Schlosses zu genießen. Irgend ein Tourist trampelt uns ständig vor den Füßen herum. Die einzige Chance, das zu vermeiden, ist vor deren Füßen zu trampeln. Das versuchen wir dann auch. Carlotta und Amon ziemlich erfolgreich, irgendwie stehen die immer ganz vorne. Sehr zu Carlottas Verzücken, bei jedem königlichem Bett in erster Reihe! Und immer wieder ein tiefes Säufzen " Ich bin so neidisch!" In jedem Raum richtet sie sich aufs Neue ein, sucht ohne Unterlass die Kinderzimmer, Küchen und Esszimmer des Schlosses, und fragt ohne Pause nach jedem klitzekleinem Detail. "Wer genau hat hier geschlafen? Was hatte der nachts an? Hatte der Kinder? War das ein König? Hatte der ein Pferd? Wie hieß das Pferd? .......... Unfähig, diese Fragen zu beantworten, und fast schon unwillig, sie unentwegt zu hören, packen wir Carlotta voller Schlossprospekte und ich kaufe ihr am Ende des Besuches ein Buch mit der kompletten Historie des Schlosses. Die Großen staunen hier und da, aber doch eher in cooler Teenager Manier.
    Durch den wunderschönen Schlossgarten Richtung Parkplatz bemerkt Carlotta sichtlich betrübt " Ein bisschen enttäuscht bin ich ja schon von dem Schloss!" --- ???? --- "Wir waren nie in 400 Zimmern, und ich wollte die anderen auch noch sehen! "
    Die Großen steigern merkbar ihre Schrittgeschwindigkeit in einem Schloss oder Museum. Carlotta könnte in jedem Schloss ihren ganzen Tag verbringen, und natürlich noch viel lieber in einem echten Schlosskleid.

    https://www.chambord.org/fr/    Read more

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You might also know this place by the following names:

Chambord, Bordchamp, 샹보르, 41250, Шамбор

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