The queen of the Loire Valley is no doubt Château de Chambord. In 1519 Francis Pombriant was ordered to begin construction of the chateau. The work was interrupted by the Italian War of 1521–1526, and then was slowed by dwindling royal funds and difficulties in laying the structure’s foundations.
By 1524, the walls were barely above ground level. Building resumed in September 1526, at which point 1,800 workers were employed building the château. At the time of the death of King Francis I in 1547 (he was the guy that held da Vinci as he died), the work had cost 444,070 livres, which is around $214 million today. The grounds cover 21 square miles.
The château was built to act as a hunting lodge for King Francis I. however, the king spent barely seven weeks there in total, that time consisting of short hunting visits. As the château had been constructed with the purpose of short stays, it was not practical to live in on a longer-term basis. The massive rooms, open windows and high ceilings meant heating was impractical. There are gigantic fireplaces in nearly every room.
Similarly, as the château was not surrounded by a village or estate, there was no immediate source of food other than game. This meant that all food had to be brought with the group, typically numbering up to 2,000 people at a time. So in short it was an impractical chateau of enormous size.
Over the centuries it passed from one family to the next but never quite made it as a country chateau. The Chamord family took posession just after World War I, and then finally in 1930 the French government took possession and went about restoring the beautiful castle we see today.
In 1939, shortly before the outbreak of World War II, the art collections of the Louvre and Compiègne museums (including the Mona Lisa and Venus de Milo) were stored at the Château de Chambord. An American B–24 Liberator bomber crashed onto the château lawn on 22 June 1944 scaring the bejeebus out of every art collector in the world.
It’s a not-to-miss stop when you’re in the Loire Valley. A few tips: arrive early in the day, most of the year it open at 09:00. After about 10:00 the hordes and tour busses arrive. Skip the tickets line by buying your entry tickets in advance either online or at your Loire Valley hotel front desk. In 2021 they cost €14.50 per person. Lastly you must show your Pass Sanitaire as you enter and masks are compulsory inside.
Fantastic!
