Castles: Part 1 - Chateaux

Good Morning Room 3

France is a very old country, much older than Australia. Way, way, way, way back there used to be Kings, Queens, Princesses and Princes that would travel around the country. They would travel to the various parts of the country that they ruled. So where do Kings and Queens live? That's right, in castles! The french word for a castle is a Chateau (you add an x to make it a plural instead of an s - Chateaux). It is pronounce shat-toe (like the toe on your foot).

There are so many different and wonderful things about each chateau. This is part 1 of a series of posts about the various chateaus that I have been lucky enough to visit. Each chateau has it's own special thing about it.  I can just imagine little princes running about the halls and causing all sorts of trouble - just like little Vinsons and Dylans.

Here are some of the Chateaus I have visited so far and some information that is unique to each. Most of the castles are named after the towns that they are in but there are some exceptions.

Quick french lesson: ch is pronounce sh in French. A good example of this is a french word that we use in our everyday language - chef. We would pronounce that shef not chef. 

Okay, on with the castles.

Château de Chambord

Chambord is best known for its size. This is a big castle with a lot of space. There is a large double staircase at the centre of the castle, which they believe Da Vinci designed, although there is not clear evidence. The rooms are enormous and when I say enormous I mean the size of your whole house!

Château de Chambord

Double helix staircase

Miss Stinson on the top balcony of Chambord

View from inside the staircase

On top of Chambord

Chambord was so impressive because it was so big! I wanted to visit a castle that was beautiful that's when we headed to Cheverny.

Château de Cheverny

Cheverny is a fairy tale castle. As soon as you enter it feels like you are a princess. There are actors roaming the grounds dressed like they have just attended a royal ball and classical music playing throughout the grounds. The actors will dance and prance about and ask you questions (in french) and they create a very magical atmosphere. This castle is also well known for being the home of Tin Tin. Cheverny is popular because there are no empty large spaces like Chambord, the whole castle is filled with furniture, clothing, artworks and the house is set out as if there are still kings and queens living there. Unfortunately, you are not allowed to take photos on the inside of the castle but if you visit the website it has some photos there.

Some of the actors in the gardens

Some of the actors in the castle. Their costumes were so lavish.

A photo of Cheverny from the gardens

They keep hounds on the grounds that are still used for hunting

Some of the hounds were so tired they were taking micro naps on the others' backs.

One of the pictures inside the house on website

A basic map of the Cheverny grounds from the website

When we arrived it was a bit overcast and we couldn't get the real fairy tale photo but...

...just before we left the sun came out and we got this beautiful photo.

Cheverny was my favourite castle, we had seen about 5 castles but then I we visisted Chenonceau.

Château de Chenonceau

This castle was by far my favourite of all the castles. This castle is known for its feminine touch. That means lots of ladies (most of which were queens) either designed the house or had a big say in the structure and interior of the house. This was a beautiful castle. The most outstanding feature was the river ran right underneath where the queens used to hold grand balls. There is a tall tower at the front of the castle and it reminded me so much of rapunzel.

I felt like I was in a fairy tale at each castle. My question for you this week is to choose a favourite castle, it can be one in this post or any others in the world and use the internet with your parents to find out some more information about it. Remember you can post comments and questions at the bottom of each of my posts.

Au revoir 

Miss Stinson