Chambord Castle – practical information to know everything about the royal residence of the Loire Valley
Chambord Castle is an expression which designates the royal domain located in Chambord in the Loir-et-Cher, in the Val de Loire region, near Blois.
It is the largest of the Loire castles. It is located in a park which is surrounded by a wall of more than 30 km.
Classification of Chambord
It has been classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1981 and as a historical monument since 1840 and is part of the system of European royal residences.
Chambord Castle – practical information
_________________
Visits
To visit the Château de Chambord, you will need to buy a ticket from the online ticket office. (Different platform from the official website)
Visiting hours
Visiting hours of the Château de Chambord vary according to the season: from 9 am to 5 pm in low season, and from 9 am to 6 pm in high season.
Prices
Chambord offers several rates, depending on the proposed visit, and depending on the situation of each. Rates can vary from 12 to 14.50 euros per person.
Chambord estate – Access
To access the Chambord Castle , you will have to take the departmental 33 and/or the departmental D112, depending on the car park chosen. Indeed, the estate offers several car parks open 24 hours a day.
Castle services
The services offered are diverse. Indeed, the site offers three different shops, a reservation site, 3 catering sites, and 3 different accommodation sites.
Events at the Chateau de Chambord
Chambord is an area that offers many events, often including film shoots.
Chambord – Presentation of the estate
_________________
The castle
The chateau of Chambord consists of a square keep, surrounded by four corner towers, which, seen from the sky, draws a Greek cross, and in the middle of which is the double spiral staircase. The style of the castle is Renaissance, undoubtedly influenced by the presence of Leonardo da Vinci at the court of King François 1er, and therefore the Italian ‘Renaissance’ style. Witness, for example, the staircase with double revolutions. Note that today it is impossible to know the name of the architect who designed this Renaissance monument.
Chambord – The gardens
It was on the initiative of Louis XIV that the gardens of Chambord were born. From 1684, work began, requiring major road and earthworks, which were finalized in the 18th century.
It was not until 1734 that the French gardens really saw the light of day. The works, carried out on more than 6 hectares will continue until 1751, with the removal of the persistent marshes around the estate, and promoting malaria.
The gardens will be redesigned between 2016 and 2017, during one of the largest restoration and planting projects of a garden in France.
The domain
The surface of the Chambord estate is estimated at more than 5000 hectares. Part of this land – the agricultural land was annexed by François 1er in the 16th century – then the rest of the estate was acquired by Gaston d’Orléans in the 17th century. This area is surrounded by a 32 kilometer wall.
Vegetable gardens
Chambord owns and cultivates vegetable gardens based on permaculture. More than 5 hectares were already in cultivation, and 5 other hectares have been added, with the aim of promoting short circuits, from production to consumption.
Stables
The current stables are in fact made up of what was called the small stable, the initiative of which came from Louis XIV. The large stable project will not be carried out and it is therefore the Count of Saxe who will complete the work during the 18th century.
Chambord Castle vineyards
The estate includes red and white wine vineyards, whose origin dates back to François 1er who would have come in the 16th century more than 80,000 vines from Burgundy, Beaune in Burgundy. Since 2015, the estate has undertaken the planting of more than 14 hectares of vines.
