UFRT Day 1 : Geneva to Tours

The first day of our Ultimate France Road Trip (UFRT) we headed out from Geneva and drove west around 5 hours stopping in the Loire Valley near Tours.  On the map below that is from point I to B. 

I booked a quaint B&B for the night outside of Tours, but before checking in we had a stop to make.  

Château de Chambord is one of the most unbelievable places I have ever seen.  It is incredibly huge, pictures can't do it justice for how grand the building is.  As we pulled up Jim says That's where we are going!? Sweet!  Not knowing much about the châteaus of France I had no idea this place existed before looking into sights in the Loire Valley. 

To give a brief history; Chambord was built as a hunting lodge for King François I in the 16th century. That's right...just hunting.  Construction began in 1519 and upon François' death in 1547 he had spent a total of 7 weeks there. The Chateâu was actually never meant as a residence. The rooms are massive and the ceilings high making it impossible to heat. In François time the Chateâu remained unfurnished until the King's arrival. An entourage of some 2,000 people would bring in the furniture, as well as food and everything else the king needed for however long he was expected to stay. After François' death the Chateâu remained unused for almost a century. 

From 1639 until 1944 Chambord was renovated, expanded, and abandoned over and over until it became a tourist site in the mid 20th Century.  It was also said to be the inspiration for the Beast's castle in Disney's Beauty and the Beast.   

If you need more history I suggest the internet, Chambord does have a fascinating history!

After Chambord we drove about 20 min to the bed and breakfast where we stayed for the night.  Basically I picked it for location to the highway because we wanted to be able to get up early and on the road again.  It turned out to be really nice and the owners were very friendly. We even had a little patio to sit on.