Chambord
The first of France's great classical palaces, Chambord stands in a vast park enclosed by a 20-mile wall. It is surrounded by the forest of Sologne, teeming with the game which the rulers of France have long loved to hunt.
In 1519, Francois I, at the age of 21, decided to build a new palace of pleasure. Chambord had barely started to rise from its foundations when the king suffered defeat and captivity at Pavia in 1525. On his return to France, he judged it more suitable for a monarch to live close to his capital, at either Fontainebleu or St-Germain-en-Laye.
Chambord
The first of France's great classical palaces, Chambord stands in a vast park enclosed by a 20-mile wall. It is surrounded by the forest of Sologne, teeming with the game which the rulers of France have long loved to hunt.
In 1519, Francois I, at the age of 21, decided to build a new palace of pleasure. Chambord had barely started to rise from its foundations when the king suffered defeat and captivity at Pavia in 1525. On his return to France, he judged it more suitable for a monarch to live close to his capital, at either Fontainebleu or St-Germain-en-Laye.