Chateaux de la Loire

Flash back to two weeks ago to Friday the eight of March and this is what you would have seen if you had been with me; the castles of the loire valley.

Well not all the castles of course because there are 20 that are open to the public and with a time limit we were more than happy to be able to cover three.

Beginning with the Royal Chateau of Amboise.

This castle is situated in the center of the Loire valley in the town of Amboise.

With the humble beginnings of a  medieval fortress, Amboise was replaced by a royal residence during the reigns of Kings Charles VIII and François I (late 15th - early 16th century). Under the ownership of these kings, a number of men and women of "letters" from Europe, as well as artists, stayed at the Court of Amboise at the sovereigns’ invitation (including Leonardo da Vinci, who was eventually buried in the château’s chapel).

This is the Chapel where Leonardo is buried.

 

As I said this castle over looks the Loire river.

With less than a third remaining of the original castle. There is still a lot to be seen.

The view when you arrive at Amboise.

 Now lets say good bye to Amboise and lets welcome the Chaumont-sur-Loire castle.
A mere 15km away from Amboise, you will find this castle which overlooks the UNESCO World Heritage site of the Loire Valley.
Built with a mix of both the defensive architecture of the Gothic period and the more leisure-inspired style of the Renaissance. The castle belonged firstly to Catherine of Medici, a great admirer of Nostradamus and Ruggieri whom she appointed as her personal astrologer, and subsequently to Diane de Poitiers. The castle was a hive of intellectual activity in the 18C and 19C when the Le Ray de Chaumont family welcomed visitors such as the sculptor Nini, our well known revolutionary Benjamin Franklin and the writer Germaine de Staël. The Prince and Princess de Broglie, the last private owners of the castle, introduced an extraordinary sense of modernity, fantasy and high society to the building

As you can see there was almost no other visitors.

This was because they close super early and due to current remodeling the main exit is closed which makes most everyone think the castle is closed as well. When in reality you just have to tke the back entrance (something that we were lucky enough to find out).

 

I am the queen of the castle!!

Finally here we are at the last castle of the day, Chenonceau.
Also located in the center of the loire valley it was once a royal residence and property of the crown. This castle has the particularity of being  built almost entirely over the river. No wonder that today the Château of Chenonceau is second only to Versailles as the most visited château in France!
(we did not go into the castle because it was nearly closing time and it is really the exterior that is worthwhile to see).

Well hope you enjoyed our little trip as much as I did. It was such a great reminder that I truly am in a beautiful, stunning and historically rich country.