Photo : Benh LIEU SONG / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)
Château de Chambord
The Château de Chambord, in Loir-et-Cher, was launched by Francis I on 6 September 1519. Leonardo da Vinci, settled in Amboise since 1516, is said to have influenced the project, in particular the central double-helix staircase, where two people can climb without meeting. The castle has 426 rooms, 77 staircases and 282 fireplaces. The king spent only 42 days there in 32 years.
The estate is surrounded by the largest enclosed forest park in Europe, of about 50 km², ringed by a wall of 32 kilometres. Over the centuries, Molière's troupe played there in 1669 and 1670, then the exiled King of Poland Stanisław Leszczyński lived there from 1725 to 1733. The Count of Chambord inherited it in 1821.
During the Second World War, it sheltered works from the Louvre, including the Mona Lisa. The State acquired it in 1930. The castle has been UNESCO-listed since 1981 and its French-style gardens have been reconstructed, with work completed in 2017. The park can be explored on foot, by bike or by boat, and visiting arrangements should be checked on the official website.
