Loire Valley, in central France where Amboise is located, boasts mild climate, beautiful scenery, and fertile land for vineyards and orchards. It is also close to Paris making it the favourite royal playground. Starting from 1500s, French kings started to build huge chateaux here for vacation and hunting. Not to be left behind, their nobility soon followed suit and began building their chateaux as well. Altogether, there are over 300 chateaux dotting the whole Loire Valley making it a surreal place fitting for storybooks and fairy tales. We originally wanted to vist three chateaux in the area but only managed to complete one (also the prettiest in our opinion): Chenonceaux, which is only 30 mins drive from Amboise.
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| Chateau Chenonceau, with its building spanning the entire Cher River, is so dream-like beautiful that you could expect to see Cinderella live here |
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| We arrived right after its door opened in the morning to avoid the crowd |
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| Not surprising, this is one of the most popular tourist spots in France |
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| First part of the chateau was built by Thomas Bohier, royal chamberlain, in 1513 |
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| Bohier family soon lost the property to the king due to unpaid debts. Henry II later offered the chateau to his mistress, Diane de Poitiers in 1555. Diane loved the property so much that she built an arched bridge across the river |
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| Diane was kicked out of the chateau by Henry's widow, Catherine de'Medici, after he died in 1559. It was Catherine who added the grand gallery and rooms over the arched bridge |
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| The chateau was spared from destruction during French Revolution due to its value as a bridge across the river |
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| The chateau was acquired by Henri Menier in 1913 and this family owned it to this day. It survived several bombing raids during WWII |
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| View of the entrance garden from third floor |
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| View of the arched bridge from second floor |
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| View of the garden built by the mistress Diane de Poitiers from the arched bridge |
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| Chapel inside the chateau |
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| Portrait of Diane de Poitiers, the beautiful mistress who started the first expansion of the chateau |
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| Unlike some other chateaux, interior rooms at Chateau Chenonceau were all beautifully decorated with mostly original furniture and numerous paintings |
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| Catherine de'Medici's bedroom |
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| Small exhibition room with a canvas painting on the ceiling |
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| Medici Gallery - this is the part of the chateau that spans over the river below |
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| Display detailing the different construction phases of the chateau |
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| Wine cellar in the huge garden ground of the chateau complex |
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| I bet these bottles are priceless |
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| Exploring the huge ground of Chateau Chenonceau was quite a workout. We went back to our hotel in Amboise to rest... |
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| ...and had a yummy picnic lunch - prosciutto, baguette, peach, and a fine bottle of Loire Valley red wine |
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| Chapel of Saint-Hubert - the burial site of Leonardo da Vinci, who spent his final 3 years in Amboise at the invitation of King Francis I. We went exploring the town of Amboise after lunch |
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| Chateau d'Amboise was a favorite residence for many French kings |
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| The heirs of the last French king Louis-Philippe still own this chateau which was heavily damaged in French Revolution and WWII |
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| Beautiful sunset over the Loire River capped our wonderful stay in Amboise |
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| The other two chateaux we would have visited if we had more time. Chateau de Chambord is the largest chateau in the Loire Valley and was used as a royal hunting lodge |
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| Chateau de Villandry is famous for its beautiful garden |
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