A trip to the Loire Valley is an absolute must. Fortunately, we had the chance to visit some of these castles in December/2004.
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| CHATEAU DE CHAMBORD | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The Loire Valley is known as the Chateaux de la Loire [the Castles of the Loire]. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The history, the grandeur and the beauty, of these architectural wonders is beyond anything that one can imagine. A visit to a chateau or two, will leave you awe stricken, actually feeling as though you are a part of the history that occurred there.
A trip to the Loire Valley is an absolute must. Fortunately, we had the chance to visit some of these castles in December/2004. |
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| Chambord is probably the most majestic of the ch�teaux in the Loire Valley. It was never an inhabited castle. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Chateau de Chambord - Loire Valley - France - December/2004 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Fran�ois the First spent lavishly to realize the project of the Ch�teau de Chambord. In fact, the construction of the castle took more than a quarter of a century. Started in 1518, the work was stopped in 1525 when the coffer of the Kingdom was empty. The work could be resumed only in October 1526. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The ch�teau was completed in 1547 and contains 440 rooms, 84 staircases, 365 fireplaces (one for each day of the year). It also has stables to accommodate 1200 horses. The domain is surrounded by 32 km of walls, protecting more than 12,000 acres of woods which is a huge hunting reserve whose surface equals that of Paris! | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Chateau de Chambord - Loire Valley - France - December/2004 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Chateau de Chambord - Loire Valley - France - December/2004 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| see our visit to the Chateau of Cheverny | |||||||||||||||||||||||||