Hundreds of years ago the French royals and the rich built Chateaux in the central part of France. Our basecamp for visiting these châteaux is a town called Loches which also has its own Chateau. Instead of getting two rooms at a budget hotel we ended up in a hotel that was also a time share resort. We had a one room condo with a kitchen and deck that overlooked the river and the bell tower and a small view of the chateau. It was the same price as the budget hotel but there was no housekeeping and we have to pay for WiFi. It was nice to finally have cold drinks and to sit at a table!
We ended up visiting three châteaux including Cheverny, Chambord an Chenonceau. Cheverny which is pictured below is still owned by its long term family and it was furnished with rare antiques and tapestries and paintings. It's best known as the basis for the chateau depicted in the adventures of tin tin. My favorite part was the area where the Hounds live. They have 100 hunting Hounds which all live together in an open kennel on site. These Hounds are still used for hunting the old fashioned noble way.
Chambord was a huge château, it might be the biggest among the châteaus. The best part were the double helix stone spiral staircases. Unfortunately since it's so large and hard to manage many visitors have carved their names into the stone walls. Chenonceau is best known for its location. It's built over a river, so the structure doubles as a bridge and a château.
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