Chambord - Loire Valley Favorite becomes new again

Chambord is my hands-down favorite of all of the Loire Valley chateaux.

 The one draw back, is that many of the scores and scores of rooms are empty, devoid of furniture. The Chateau is slowly trying to change that, by added period furniture, but its going to many decades to do, Chambord’s extraordinary scale seems to guarantee the château could never be completely refurnished. Nonetheless, starting this July it will be possible to see Chambord as it would have looked centuries ago when the king and his court stayed at the château, thanks to the new, augmented reality ‘HistoPad’. 

Walk into any empty room of the château, and these small iPads, become windows into the past. When a HistoPad is held up inside a room, a reconstruction of the historic décors — tapestries, furniture, etc —appears instantly, with pop up text and multiple interactive details.

France...A" Few Of My Favorite Things"......................

As Christmas approaches, the lyrics to one of Rodgers and Hammersteins most beloved songs...'My Favorite Things..' I start to think about some of 'my favorte things' of France and one of them is the lush Loire Valley filled with it's many magnificent Chateaux....
Perhaps the most famous of the Loire Valley chateaux, after Chenonceau, Chambord is a vast Renaissance extravagance started by Francois I in the early 16th century as a hunting lodge (seriously) it contains over 400 rooms, 365 fireplaces and 84 staircases. All this for a residence only used for about 2 months during Francois’s reign. He created sumptuous hunting grounds, surrounded by an uninterrupted wall of 32km to contain his potential prey of deer and wild boar plus a stable for 1200 horses which were used for riding and hunting within the grounds. You can cycle or walk the grounds via the marked out paths but even the shorter walks can take over an hour, such is the size of the park. Wear sensible footwear for this visit and take plenty of water. You can also ride horses or take a horse-drawn cart from the stables where, during the summer months, there is an equestrian show. Inside the chateau the only furnished rooms are the chambers of Francois I and Louis XIV plus a room dedicated to the toys of the Royals as the chateau had apparently been ransacked of its furnishings during the Revolution. That said you cannot fail to be impressed by the decoration, fittings and internal architectural features of even its spacious empty rooms. Its famous double spiral staircase is said to have been influenced by Lenardo da Vinci who was a guest of Francois I at Close-Luce near the royal residence at Amboise. It is interesting to send your partner down one set and for you to take the other - and pass each other without touching! The views of the external architecture from the roof terraces are breathtaking---why so much detail Francois?—I suppose because he could! As with all popular les chateau of the Loire it is better to visit before the large tourist parties arrive or after they have gone. Each evening in July and August, of 10 p.m. to midnight, the chateau façade is lit up in a way that blends the building to the forest through a sound and light show. You can also hire bikes and boats within the grounds.

Keys To The Kingdom in the Loire Valley

Chocolatine, my agent in France just emailed me about a new pass in the Loire Valley that allows you at a discount to visit ten of the most famous Chateaux.
Visitors to the Loire Valley can now purchase a Chateaux Pass (Clefs des Temps) and enjoy entrance to ten beautiful castles, ranging from the medieval Castle of Châteaudun to the opulent Renaissance masterpiece, Chambord. The pass, which includes admission to both the interiors and stunning gardens, costs $42.75, a savings of nearly 50 percent over individual admission prices.
The castles included in the pass:
Azay le Rideaux • Chambord & Chaumont • Chateau de Chambord • Castle of Châteaudun • Chateau of Azay-le-Rideau • Chateau de Chaumont sur Loire • Chateau d'Angers • Chateau de Talcy • Chateau de Fougeres sur Bievres • Abbaye Royale de Fontevraud • Chateau d’Oiron
To purchase Le Clefs des Temps online: http://www.discoverfrance.net/Boutique/Travel/Passes/

New Year's Eve with a French Count and Countess in France's Loire Valley

Perhaps you are looking for a truly exclusive New Year's Eve
celebration? Not the same old celebrations you have year after year?
Then might I suggest -As private guests of Comte and Comtesse de Vanssay at Chateau de La Barre, in the Loire Valley, France, you will :
~ experience a Renaissance feast in Leonardo da Vinci's home on the 31st of December 2009,
- return back to Chateau de La Barre to usher in the New Year with champagne underneath the ancestral portraits of the Renaissance drawing room,
- enjoy a gala dinner in the XVIIth century dining room on New Years day, January 1st 2010,with all the family silver and crystal

Let me know if you would like to receive more information.