Château Chambord & Cheverny 🇫🇷

 

Our final two châteaux here in the Loire Valley were extraordinary and captivated our imagination of what it must have been like to be French royalty living in such magnificent structures.

We decided to leave early from Amboise for another magnificent drive. Chambord is a little over an hour away from Amboise, and we of course enjoyed this drive enough to continue our count of how many times we said “wow”. An early morning drive along the Loire River is something I will always remember and am thankful that we took the time to rent a car and explore on our own.

So thankful we arrived early to beat the crowds

Arriving just before Chambord opened was definitely worth getting up early for. The morning haze and, of course, the colors of early spring greeted us again. Seeing Chambord for the first time was truly exciting for both of us. We had dreamed of visiting, and actually doing it was almost surreal.

The best part was being some of the first people to enter and enjoy almost by ourselves. It felt like we had our own private château! Exploring without a huge crowd of people and before the tour groups was so enjoyable. We were able to take our time and really enjoy taking it all in before the throngs of people arrived.

We enjoyed an early lunch on the grounds. 11:30 is early by European standards, and we enjoyed people-watching as the tour groups kept coming in. Walking and exploring the gardens and grounds at Chambord was amazing, and I highly recommend it!

Our second and final château for the day was Cheverny. Annette planned this, and I knew I had heard of it but honestly forgot that this was the château that is famous for its hunting hounds. We have watched Rick Steves’ video of this château many times. As soon as I came onto the grounds, Annette reminded me, and it made me so happy. We did miss the feeding time, but what a wonderful experience we had as one of the hounds came up for us to give him some loving. Our day was made.

Cheverny is famous for their hunting hounds

The grounds and inside of the chateau were decked out for Easter, making it even more enchanting and colorful. Cheverny was incredible and felt like a cozy place to live. More so than Chambord, of course. The gardens and house were inviting and warm, and we had a wonderful time exploring this amazing chateau.

Our drive back was just as beautiful, and we were so happy we watched the weather to take advantage of three glorious sunny days here in the Loire Valley.

Until Next Time…