Wednesday, April 18, 2012

This Old Château

The château de Chambord, France's iconic Renaissance castle, is slated to undergo a $5.3 million renovation, 500 years after François I commissioned its construction. In particular, the gardens will be rebuilt according to plans drawn by architect Jules Hardouin-Mansart for Louis XIV and discovered in the National Archives.

5 comments:

Daphne said...

That's good to hear - when we visited it last summer I was a little surprised that the property seemed a little "neglected".

Sandra said...

Thank you for this story. Chambord would be a lovely chateau to visit one day. My best wishes

Unknown said...

This is really good news. We visited Chambord three years ago and although beautiful, is rather derelict in some parts of the interior. Will have to schedule another Loire trip for after this work is finished! Thanks for posting.

Julianne Douglas said...

Last time I was there was in 1980, so it's interesting to hear those who have visited more recently corroborate this need for renovation. I should see if I can dig out an old photo from that high school trip all those years ago...

Heather Webb said...

I was there a few years ago and I, too, was amazed at the lack of attention it receives compared to the other dozen I've visited in France. There's such a large chunk of land around it. It would be fabulous to see the gardens built up!