Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Tours
: In summer there are daily tours of the château in English, usually in early af-
ternoon (call to confirm or ask on arrival).
Visiting the Château:
Pick upthe free and well-done English brochure, which gives
all you need to know about the rooms you'll visit.
After climbing the long ramp to the ticket booth and picking up the English handout,
ourfirststopisthepetite
chapel
whereLeonardodaVinciissupposedlyburied.Thisflam-
boyant little Gothic chapel is where the king began and ended each day in prayer.It comes
withtwofireplaces“tocomforttheking”andtwoplaques“evokingthefinalrestingplace”
ofLeonardo(oneinFrench,theotherinItalian).Wherehe'sactuallyburied,nooneseems
to know. Look up at the ceiling to appreciate the lacy design.
Enter the
castle rooms
across from Leonardo's chapel. The three-floor route takes
you chronologically from Gothic-style rooms to those from the early Renaissance and on
to the 19th century. The first room,
Salle des Gardes
, shows the château's original, much
larger size; drawings in the next room give you a better feel for its original look. Some
wings added in the 15th and 16th centuries have disappeared. (The little chapel you just
saw was once part of the bigger complex.)
You'll pass
council chambers
where the king would meet with his key staff. King
Henry II's bedroom
islivable. The second sonofFrançois I,Henry isremembered as the
husband of the ambitious and unscrupulous Marie de' Medici—and for his tragic death in
a jousting tournament.
The rose-colored top-floor rooms are well furnished from the post-Revolutionary
1800s and demonstrate the continued interest among French nobility in this château. Find
the classy portrait of King Louis-Philippe, the last Louis to rule France.
Climb to the top of the
Minimes Tower
for grand views. From here, the strategic
value of this site is clear: The visibility is great, and the river below provided a natural de-
fense. The bulky tower climbs 130 feet in five spirals—designed for a mounted soldier in
a hurry.
