In the footsteps of the Kings of the Loire Valley, France
We stepped back in time on our trip to the famous castles of the Loire Valley. With over 400 beautiful castles in this region, we knew we had to limit our visits to a small selection and chose some from the period of the 15th and 16th centuries. During this time, the Valley was home to French Kings for a hundred years and it was also the time period when the architectural style of the Renaissance came to France.
When King Henry V conquered northern France and Paris during 1415-1419, the French heir to the throne, Charles VII, was forced out of Paris and fled to the southern region of the Loire valley. Once there, he took up residence at the Fortress of Chinon that lies on the river Vienne.
It was here that he (as the future King) came to attention of the national heroine of France, Joan of Arc (also known as Saint Joan of Arc, The Maid of Orléans and Jeanne d'Arc). One of the most remarkable women who ever walked the planet, she was responsible for leading the French army to victory over the English in Orléans. At just 17, she convinced Chales VII to let her dress like a man and fight. Nowadays, you can take in this impressive statue of her upon her horse at the market place in Chinon.
Charles VII was thereafter able to drive the English out of France. His son, King Louis XI, began expanding to the south, conquering Burgundy and naming Tours as the new capital of the extended kingdom. The half-timbered houses below are from this period and are still very well preserved. We visited these at the Place de Plumereau in Tours and you can almost feel like having stepped back in time - except for all the restaurants there!
Next in line for the throne after Louis XI was Charles VIII in 1483, who chose the Castle of Amboise as his residence. He had returned from war in Italy to the Loire region, bringing with him the architectural style of the Renaissance which he incorporated in his rebuild of the castle. Unfortunately, his boisterous enthusiasm for this style of 'art' distracted him to the extent that he cracked his head on a door frame causing his fatal injury at the young age of 27.
The last King of the Loire region, François I, called in the Italian artists. He also bought paintings by Michelangelo, Tiziano and Raffael, which nowadays are on exhibition at the Louvre in Paris. Leonardo da Vinci brought his Mona Lisa with him when he accepted the King's invitation to the Castle of Amboise and it is here that he spent his last years of life.
Until he died, Leonardo da Vinci lived at the Clos Lucé which is next to the Castle of Amboise. There was even a tunnel underground leading straight to the castle so he could meet the King whenever needed. There's a beautiful park surrounding his 'Clos' and many of his inventions are exhibited throughout this park. It was really interesting to see and so many of his ideas were futuristic - just to name one of them: 'The Propeller' which had the basic principals for the engineering and development of our modern day helicopter that really happened 450 years later!
At this time, France had the strongest army in Europe and took over Milano. The King had another interest besides art, and his other goal was to become the Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. During this time the structure of the castles wasn't merely about protection any more but about status. As a symbol of his status, he had the Chateau Chambord, a hunters castle, constructed and built for him. Together with Da Vinci's creativity and mind for physics and engineering, Chambord turned into a castle fit for a fairy-princess and the architecture was later used as a model for the Castle of Versailles.
But in those days, there were not only kings who could afford to build castles. Another beauty is Château d'Azay-le-Rideau that was built in 1518 to 1527 by the treasurer of King Francis I. This Renaissance castle was built on a thousand oak-posts on an artificial island. It goes to show that even in those days the finance industry paid good wages!
Château de Chenonceau was constructed by the Kings financial advisor and chamberlain whose wife designed it. They left the original watchtower in place and making only decorative adjustments to it and the watermill was replaced by a symmetrical Renaissance-style building.
The castle's history was further defined by women. The King took over the castle and gifted it to his mistress, Diane de Poitiers. She then landscaped a beautiful garden. But upon the King's death, his French widow-Queen banned the mistress from the castle and extended the building across the bridge. This is one of the most elegant castles of the Loire and the only one that was built across a river.
Diane de Poitiers was banned to her new home, Chateau Chaumont. Originally it was designed to be a military fortress but during the Kings reign of Loire, the Renaissance style was adapted for the renovation work.
Not a bad place to be banned too, that's for sure! This castle along with the Castle of Amboise and its Da Vinci park was one of our personal highlights. From the huge garden there's a beautiful view over the Loire river, the path takes you beneath some old and majestic trees and there are some cool sculptures dotted around. Another really great thing in the Loire valley, visiting the castles, is that you can take your dog with you - depending on size - if you can carry your dog, you can also take them inside the castles, but with our sized Mara it was just in the gardens, but perfect for us 😊.
There is an exception though, with taking your dog with you: Château de Cheverny. This was built in the 17th century and the watchtowers have gone. Another very elegant castle of the region. Nowadays, it's still in the same family and they have 100 bloodhounds they train. And this is the reason that no other dogs are allowed to visit here.
There's also a Tintin museum here, which is pretty cool for likers of the Tintin stories 😊. This castle was the model used for Chateau Moulinsart.
There is no other region on earth where there is such a density of castles. Which one was the most beautiful? For us definitely Chateau Bimobil with our princess Mara 🐶 - and she loved hanging out on our new camping-sofa 😊.
The above is at a really beautiful camp ground ‚Le Moulin Fort‘. We had a great spot right next to the river - this was #69 - very spacious and quiet - and just a 20 minute walk away from Château de Chenonceau!
As always, we really enjoyed our time in France. This part with a lot of history and beautiful castles. Next, more scenery, coastline, cliffs and beaches in beautiful Brittany - more about that in our next blog. Vive la France 🇫🇷!
"One crowded hour of glorious life is worth an age without a name"
(The Call - Thomas Osbert Morsdaunt, 1730-1809)
Travel blog and travel guide by Aaron Matzinger & Clare Walker
© Aaron Matzinger & Clare Walker