French Friday: Chambord

le 18 mai 2018 (138/365) « Car tel est notre bon plaisir. » - François Ier. 

Le Château de Chambord, built during the Renaissance (1519-1547) as a hunting lodge for King François 1er, is the largest château in the Loire Valley (440 rooms, 282 fireplaces, and 84 staircases). Its distinctive architecture includes a roofscape of chimneys and turrets designed to resemble the skyline of Paris (so that ladies of the court could feel less removed from town) and the famous double-helix staircase attributed to Leonardo da Vinci.