Chambord en soiréeBen 6125
©Ben 6125|Benjamin Brolet

Chateau de Chambord The king's excess

Chambord is the symbol of the power of King François I, who made this hunting estate one of the most beautiful castles of the Renaissance.

François 1st's project

In 1519, King François I decided to build the Château de Chambord on marshy land on the banks of the River Cosson, in the middle of a forest rich in game, to create “a great, beautiful and sumptuous edifice”. A building that would enable him to indulge his passion for hunting and, above all, assert his power in Europe. Strongly fascinated and influenced by Italian arts and artists, he had a château built that blended French and Italian influences.

Construction was interrupted between 1522 and 1526, due to the defeat of Pavia in the Sixth Italian War. On the return of François I, work resumed without interruption for 20 years, until his death in 1547.

In 1539, the Emperor Charles V was received by the King in what was still only the keep under construction. The “royal” wing (the king’s dwelling wing) to the east and the chapel wing to the west were added to this first building, and continued under the reign of his son Henri II and grandson Charles IX. The complex, as we see it today, was completed by King Louis XIV in 1685.

The castle is built on the model of medieval fortified castles, with a central square building, the keep, and four towers at each corner. Inside the keep, there are five habitable levels built on the same model: four square apartments and four apartments in the round towers per level.

The double staircase is at the center of the building, giving access to the second floor (the floor of historic apartments), the second floor (the floor devoted to hunting and wildlife art) and the large terrace, before being crowned by the lantern tower and the fleur-de-lis, symbol of the French monarchy.

The double-revolution staircase

It’s an architectural curiosity that has contributed to Chambord’s renown. The principle is both simple and astonishing: two staircases that turn in the same direction but never cross. As a result, you can go up or down the floors without running into people using the other staircase.

We like to think that Leonardo da Vinci was the engineer and architect of this double staircase. Indeed, Francis I and the Italian artist had a strong attachment to each other. They met in Bologna, Italy, before King François I invited Leonardo da Vinci to stay in the Val-de-Loire, more precisely at the Clos Lucé manor house in Amboise, where the artist died in 1519.

French gardens

Completed in 2017 based on 17th-century plans, the château is back in its elegant green setting. French-style gardens, with over 600 trees, 840 shrubs, 100 rosebushes, 15,640 border plants and 18,874 m² of lawns.

The Chambord national estate

The Domaine national de Chambord is a unique architectural and natural ensemble in France, and has been a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1981. It is also a national wildlife and hunting reserve, which has been home to numerous animals representative of the Sologne fauna, including wild boar and cervid populations, since 1947.
Some 800 hectares are open to the public all year round, to enjoy the marked footpaths and cycle paths.

Thursday
09:00 - 18:00

Friday
09:00 - 18:00

Saturday
09:00 - 18:00

Monday
09:00 - 17:00

Tuesday
09:00 - 17:00

Wednesday
09:00 - 17:00

Thursday
09:00 - 17:00

Friday
09:00 - 17:00

Saturday
09:00 - 17:00

Sunday
09:00 - 17:00

Monday
09:00 - 18:00

Tuesday
09:00 - 18:00

Wednesday
09:00 - 18:00

Thursday
09:00 - 18:00

Friday
09:00 - 18:00

Saturday
09:00 - 18:00

Sunday
09:00 - 18:00

Monday
09:00 - 17:00

Tuesday
09:00 - 17:00

Wednesday
09:00 - 17:00

Thursday
09:00 - 17:00

Friday
09:00 - 17:00

Saturday
09:00 - 17:00

Sunday
09:00 - 17:00

Monday
09:00 - 18:00

Tuesday
09:00 - 18:00

Wednesday
09:00 - 18:00

Thursday
09:00 - 18:00

Friday
09:00 - 18:00

Saturday
09:00 - 18:00

Sunday
09:00 - 18:00

Key figures

The estate is the largest enclosed forest park in Europe, with :

  • a 32 km-long wall enclosing some 5,440 hectares (the size of the city of Paris itself)
  • a wall with 6 open gates
  • 200 hectares of farmland
  • 15 hectares of village
  • 160 hectares of game meadows
  • France’s second-largest breeding site for the osprey (a protected species)
Our advice

Spend the day on the estate (day pass), bring a picnic and a ball!

Highlights In hac habitasse platea

Nunc egestas, augue at pellentesque laoreet, felis eros vehicula leo, at malesuada velit leo quis pede. Aenean massa. Vestibulum ante ipsum primis in faucibus orci luctus et ultrices posuere cubilia Curae; In ac dui quis mi consectetuer lacinia. Maecenas tempus, tellus eget condimentum rhoncus, sem quam semper libero, sit amet adipiscing sem neque sed ipsum. Vestibulum turpis sem, aliquet eget, lobortis pellentesque, rutrum eu, nisl.
Aliquam lorem ante, dapibus in, viverra quis, feugiat a, tellus. Vestibulum rutrum, mi nec elementum vehicula, eros quam gravida nisl, id fringilla neque ante vel mi. Nam quam nunc, blandit vel, luctus pulvinar, hendrerit id, lorem. Pellentesque posuere. Pellentesque libero tortor, tincidunt et, tincidunt eget, semper nec, quam.
Vestibulum volutpat pretium libero. Fusce pharetra convallis urna. Sed lectus. Ut varius tincidunt libero. Donec id justo.

Close
Filter search
Page types
  • All
  • Articles
  • Agenda
  • Lists
Aucun résultat