The last chateau we visited was Chambord. This castle has 400 rooms, but was only used as a hunting lodge for the king. King Frances I started building this chateau when he was 25 years old and it took 20 years to complete. He only used it for a cumulative of 2 months before his death.

Chambord is a really impressive building. The roof of this castle looks like a skyline of a city with many different chimneys and staircase towers. The building is one of the first to include a grand staircase in the middle of the building (usually they are in towers on the outside of the castle). The staircase of Chambord is so different…it was built to resemble a double helix. There are two separate staircases that wrap around each other but never meet. There are windows in the center between these two staircases so you can see across to the other one. Looking at this staircase from the hallway, it resembles one large spiral staircase, but in fact, you see both sets…one flight of stairs just under the other. It is the most interesting staircase I have ever seen.

The forest around the castle is equivalent of the whole of Paris. It is an expansive forest…great for hunting. Today about 20% of the forest is open of hunting and the other 80% is preserved for the animals.

Below are movies of areas in and around Chambord.