Chambord chateau - Queen of the Loire valley

Chambord was built as a hunting lodge by Francois I when construction began in 1519 and continued on for decades.  It was constructed in a fraction of 12,992 acres of heavily forested land in the estate  It is so large and complex that it seems impossible to capture it adequately with any camera.  I have borrowed a google airshot to show the immensity of it and the grounds immediately near it.

I had never such an exciting roof.  The forests of towers and chimneys are mainly the result of about 300 fireplaces and 426 rooms.  At times, the chateaux was abandoned for decades, and during the revolution it was stripped bare and even the wooden floors were torn up and sold as lumber, while carved doors were used as firewood during the sales of contents.  Since 1930, Chambord has been owned by the French government and restoration is an non-stop effort.

There are about three kinds of chateaus along the Loire river: ones like Chambord are in good repair and filled with period furniture, tapestries and art.  Others are bare or somewhat bare.  Then there are the ruins (La pile on signs)  Chambord would be far less interesting without the placement of the furnishings.  It is especially nice to see huge tapestries that seem only moderately interesting in non-chateau settings come alive and look spectacular in their intended settings.

A funny aspect is that I met a Canadian woman who was taking a Rick Steeves tour (the Lawrence Welk of travel) starting at Chartres, allegedly along the Loire and on to Provence, ending in Nice.  I looked at the RS site when I returned home, and it is remarkable that on google search, his Loire tours entirely dominate all others.  He has a blurb about the two most interesting Chateaus on the Loire.

Yet when I looked at his tour schedules, he takes his clientele to only two serious chateaus, one of which is beautiful before leaving the Loire entirely - without ever taking them to Chambord or Cheverny which are the key ones and which he so highly praises in his promo. However, he has so many tours, he may offers those chateaus one I overlooked.  If you took a 12 hour day tour from Paris for about $200., you would see the three finest chateaus and have a nice drive along the river.