Finding fairytales in FRANCE
Duration
Eight days (as part of a longer trip)
When
September 2019
Why?
Imposing castles, gorgeous scenery, wonderful wildlife
Once upon a time in the beautiful Loire Valley, in the heart of France, a powerful king built himself a hunting lodge. Not just any hunting lodge – this was to become the largest and grandest château in the valley, which would fascinate visitors for centuries to come.
It is said that the king’s chum, an artist and engineer, helped to design the building and its fabled staircase. In future it would become the inspiration for an iconic Disney castle and be listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The lodge is at Chambord, two hours south of Paris, and the king was Francis I, for whom it was built in the 1500s. My husband and I visited at the start of a (pre-pandemic) touring holiday in France. It turned out to be something of a fairytale tour with a touch of heritage, as we took in medieval and Roman history, before finding ourselves in the Camargue, in a world ‘far far away’ from the glamour and glitz of the neighbouring Côte D’Azur.
But first that spectacular hunting lodge. With its flamboyant turrets, cupolas and skylights giving it a fairytale air as we approached, it was immediately obvious why this grand château is so popular, and why it inspired the castle in the 1991 Disney film Beauty and the Beast.
One of the château’s most famous features is the
