Château de Chenonceau - le labyrinthe

Château de Chenonceau

The Maze

Seen from ground level the grand labyrinth shows only a tight hedge of yews.  If you are able to navigate the maze to the center you will be rewarded with the view from a heightened gazebo of the entire layout.   The design for this formal garden was created by Catherine de Médicis in the 16th century.

Chenonceau is also known as the Château de Femmes for the succession of six powerful French knoblewomen, each of whom had an impact on the chateau over the period of four centuries.  The four caryatids seen in the background were added to the chateau by Catherine de Médicis and more recently added to "her" maze.

 

Château de Chenonceau has nearly one million visitors every year, and with the exception of the Palace of Versailles, is the most visited castle in France. 

Château de Chenonceau

45000, Chenonceaux

(one hour by train from Paris - day trip)

 

Château de Chambord

The castles in the Loire Valley are an easy day-trip out of Paris. To say that Château de Chambord is enormous just does not cover it. Consider that it has 426 rooms, 80 staircases, 282 fireplaces, a double-helix staircase, a moat, a flamboyant roof (originally designed to look like the skyline of Constantinople) all of which is surrounded by a wall 32km long. The estate is the same area as Inner Paris... Well, you get the idea. It is at least ten times larger than enormous.

During WWII, Chambord was used to store art from French museums including the Louvre. As many as 5000 crates were protected here, one of which contained the Mona Lisa. You can read much more here and here.

Built in th 16th Century as a hunting lodge, it was rarely inhabited, drafty, and bitter cold in the winter.