THE GUIDE CHÂTEAUX 2021 FRANCE TODAY’S TOP PICKS FOR 2021…


CHÂTEAUX TO VISIT Château Royal de Blois (Loir-et-Cher)


Feel you need to brush up on your French architecture? This Loire château will give you a valuable crash course thanks to its four distinct wings


surrounding a central courtyard. The earliest is 13th century medieval, followed by Gothic (from the reign of Louis XII), early Renaissance, and finally classical 17th century. Over the centuries Blois was home to multiple French monarchs, and once welcomed Joan of Arc. But the most infamous episode in its history was in the 16th century when King Henry III lured the Duke of Guise into his counsel chamber only to have him


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stabbed to death by a troop of royal bodyguards. The king hid behind a tapestry while the evil deed was carried out. en.chateaudeblois.fr


Château de Pierrefonds (Oise)


First built in the late 14th century by Louis of Orléans, this awe-inspiring castle lay in ruins for much of its existence until Napoleon III commissioned the famous architect Eugène Viollet-le-Duc to restore it to its medieval glory. The result is a vast eight-towered château straight out of a fairytale, complete with drawbridge, gargoyles and dungeon, in the Compiègne Forest. www.chateau-pierrefonds.fr/en


Château d’Amboise (Indre-et-Loire)


Sitting atop a rocky outcrop on the southern bank of the Loire, the Château d’Amboise comes alive when you learn of the famous historical characters who once lived (and died) here. In the late 1400s, King Charles VIII met his end here while on his way to watch a game of real tennis. After bumping his head on a door lintel he fell into a coma and died hours later. More violent was the fate of a band of Protestant conspirators who, in the 1500s, were disembowelled and hanged from the balcony of the château’s Salle des États. Mary, Queen of Scots once lived here too, as did Leonardo da Vinci, whose remains are


believed to be buried in the nearby chapel of Saint-Hubert. www.chateau-amboise.com


Château de Chambord (Loir-et-Cher)


Five centuries have passed since the first stone was laid at Chambord. The imposing structure was initially built by François I as a hunting lodge before being completed during the reign of Louis XIV, becoming one of the most recognisable examples of Renaissance architecture in France. Sitting on roughly 13,000 acres of land, and featuring more than 400 rooms, it requires a full day’s visit to give it justice. And if the sumptuous interiors don’t make your head spin then the famed


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