France Trip - Château de Chambord

We were in awe seeing the prickly spires from a distance. Yep, this is going to be a good one. Rick Steves listed this one as a 3 Triangle ‘Don’t Miss’ and he was right.

The Loire Valley has been on my bucket list for awhile and I’m so happy to finally be here. Instead of a Parade of Homes…we’re calling it a Parade of Château’s Tour.

We parked and walked up and around the Chambord Chateau heading to the back entrance. We did a cute 8 second video clip — Katie and Taylor’s idea — that we continued at every château and major monument throughout the trip — and it was so fun.

The Famous Double Helix Stairway

The staircase at the Château de Chambord is a famous double helix structure, designed with two intertwined, yet separate, spirals that allow people to ascend and descend without meeting. It’s in the center of the château and was definitely a highlight. We took lots of pictures and even more videos peeking through the openings looking up and down in the very center. Such a unique feature.

Rooms and Details

Six times the size of your average Loire castle, the Chambord Château has 440 rooms and a fireplace for every day of the year… some of which Katie tried out with Floo Powder. Only 80 of Chambord’s rooms are open to the public but it was enough to keep us busy. It was fun to take pictures of some of the rooms and details throughout the property.

The Chateau de Chambord is surrounded by Europe’s largest enclosed forest park teeming with wild deer and boar. Chambord began as a simple hunting lodge for bored Blois counts and became a monument to the royal sport and duty of hunting. Chris in the hallway of deer antlers.

Chambord Balconies

In and out of some of the rooms led us to balconies with massive arches and stunning views of courtyards and nearby wings. Classic pic of Chris reading every detail in the Rick Steves book as we walked.

The Chambord Rooftops

The rooftops offer a viewing terrace with jaw-dropping sights in every direction. It was definitely the highlight of the entire Château and I could NOT stop taking pictures.

Kates and I

The grandiose tip top of the tallest tower is capped with a king’s fleur-de-lis symbol - which we noticed everywhere. Everything pointed to the power of the French king.

A nearby rooftop room help an exhibit explaining the Chambord was a warehouse for storing precious art from the Louvre during World War II.