Chaumont sur Loire – a Chateau Perched on the Loire
Perched above the town, the château of Chaumont sur Loire is set on a bluff overlooking the Loire River between Amboise and Blois. Chaumont, built in the 10th century as a fort, was to protect Blois from feudal attacks. The fortress burned in 1465 and then rebuilt. The towers you see are 20 meters high (over 65 feet) and the walls are 2 meters (approximates 6.5 feet) thick.
Chaumont sur Loire
One of Chaumont’s several owners was Jacques- Donatien Le Ray . Because he loved America, he earned the title of Father of the American Revolution because he loved America. Another famous owner of this Loire Valley château was Diane de Poitiers, the mistress of Henry II. She lived at Chaumont for a short time. Henry’s widow Catherine de Medici forced Diane out of Chenonceau where she lived .
Catherine gave Diane de Poitiers Chaumont in exchange for Chenonceau. The ville of Chaumont has an International Design Festival the end of May through the beginning of June. An International Garden Festival is also held on the grounds. Themes in the past have been as Kitchen Gardens, Mosaiculture and Erotic Gardens to name a few. In 2019 the theme was Jardins de Paradis , Gardens of Pardise. The festival runs from mid-April through mid-October.
i still remember back in 1970 (my jr yr aabrod) when our group took the train from Toulouse to Florence and it happened to be easter vacation…the train was so crowded that we spent the night in the corridor of the train with hoards of others…..sitting squished in the dirty corridor…..yuck….longest trip of my life
Natali, Sorry you had such a bad train experience. In the past 45 years, though, train travel in France has improved immensely! I thoroughly enjoy traveling by train in both France, England and the Netherlands. The SCNF, Thalys and TGV trains in France have, in my experience, been clean, efficient and on time.