Château de Chambord

I remember visiting this one in ’79, and not being very impressed. Partly I think it was grey and overcast, and partly because it looked like a big hulking fortress unlike castles like Chenonceau and Azay-le-Rideau, which I loved. But Chambord is much more than a fortress. Well, I don’t think it was ever really that: it was partly a royal hunting lodge for François I, partly a royal residence, and partly a weird architectural experiment that felt the touch of Leonardo da Vinci.

As you can see, it’s being cleaned and renovated. These 500 year old castles need a lot of TLC!