Châteaux of France Part Deux — Rick Steves’ Europe Travel Guide

Châteaux of France Part Deux — Rick Steves’ Europe Travel Guide

The Chateau of ambois was the favored Royal residence of several Kings today visitors can stroll through its peaceful grounds and enjoy commanding [Music] views here in the lair you’ll notice the impact of the Italian Renaissance when French big shuts traveled to Italy they returned inspired by the art and the architecture they saw tastes in food Gardens arst and design were all influenced by Italian culture and franois Premier did what he could to physically bring the Renaissance to France it just made sense the ultimate French Renaissance King invited the ultimate Italian Renaissance artist Leonardo D Vinci to join his court the king set Leonardo up in clus a small mansion just down the street in 1516 Leonardo da Vinci left Rome accepted the position of engineer architect and painter to Fran’s Renaissance King and moved in the 64-year-old Leonardo spent his last 3 years here in the court of 22-year-old Francois Premier clus thoughtfully recreates the everyday atmosphere lionardo enjoyed while he lived here the Great Hall where he received VIP guests his bedroom and the fine kitchen which came with a chef provided by by the king enjoying the patronage of the French King Leonardo pursued his passions to the very end this romantic painting shows franois Premier comforting his genius pal on his deathbed clus displays models of Leonardo’s remarkable inventions built according to his notes Leonardo was fascinated with water and was brilliant in harnessing its energy 500 years ago when Leonardo was looking for work the resume he sent to Kings touted his engineering skills it read something like I can help your army by designing tanks flying machines water pumps gear systems and Rapid firing guns the chateau’s grounds are a kid-friendly interactive park with life-size models of the clever Contraptions Leonardo dreamed up while parents relax kids spin the helicopter raise heavy stones with Innovative gear systems pump water upward with an Archimedes screw Ponder tanks and machine [Music] guns and Propel boats with paddle [Music] power Bay next brooding Cliff crowning Chateau sares 500 ft above the Doone River its design was state-of-the-art in its day and it comes with a view fit for a king during the Hundred Years War More Than A Century of skirmishes between the French and the English back in the 13 and 1400s the castle of bayak was on the front lines the sparsely furnished Castle takes you back Stone lamps light the [Music] way in the night’s mess hall you almost feel like the cooks are just taking a break [Music] and even back then there were manners Park your sword at the end of the table the leading Noble family of the dorone ruled from this Castle through the Middle Ages here in the great room the closest thing to a throne room the decisions that affected the realm were made during the Hundred Years War the castle of bayak flip-flopped between French and English control sever several times negotiations were worked out in this room the subjects of the realm would Gather in the courtyard to learn their Destiny their Noble Lord would stand here and Proclaim now you are French or now you are English deal with it the stately hunting Palace of je is immaculately preserved because it was built and decorated in just 30 years in the early 1600s it offers a pleasing architectural Harmony and unity of style The Chateau has been in the same family for 5 centuries and the intimate details like the wedding dress in the bedroom are a reminder that the Marquee lives here to this day formal rooms like this with a fine 17th century painted ceiling and centuries old suits of armor feel like museums but upstairs the family quarters feel more lived in the library shows a love of music and culture the children’s room features toys from the 19th century and this clock does it all showing the stage of the Moon day and date it second hand has been ticking away for 250 [Music] years when the revolution hit in 1789 many palaces were trashed some were even burned to the ground but many survived some were lucky some had fast talking owners with friends in high places and others like Chev had a reputation for being good to their workers and back then a big part of Chateau life included hunting and still does the Marquee hunts twice a week in season feeding time for his hounds is 5:00 daily the hounds half English Foxhound and half French putu get worked up knowing red meat is on the way the master moves them out and spreads out the Feast the excitement is [Music] palpable the trainer who knows each of the 70 dogs by name opens the gate and maintains discipline as the dogs gather at the concrete table it’s an exercise in canine control finally he gives the signal and it’s it’s Chow [Music] [Music] Time shat all have impressive grounds but one’s a destination specifically for its landscaping for my favorite Gardens the lir it’s got to be vandre finished in 1536 vandre was the last great Renaissance chatau built on the lair and all the attention here is on its grounds arranged in elaborate geometric patterns and immaculately maintained it’s a hit with gardeners like so many Chateau around here this was the pet project of a fabulously wealthy Banker Jean Liberton worked for the French frch King franois Premier in the early 1500s well-traveled Jean was inspired by Italian Renaissance Gardens so when he built his Chateau he created this the 100,000 plants half of which come from the family Greenhouse are replanted twice a year by 10 full-time gardeners posted charts and Maps identify everything in English the place is lovingly manicured stroll under the grape vine trellis through a good-looking salad Zone and among ANW pears the earliest lir Gardens were practical grown in the Middle Ages by Abby monks who needed vegetables and medicinal herbs and those monks liked geometrical patterns later Italian influence brought decorative ponds Arbors and fountains and harmonizing all the elements was an innovation of 16th century Lair Chateau today’s beautiful gardens at vill Andre a careful reconstruction of what the 1530s original might have been are the result of generations of passionate dedication

Hunting hounds, manicured grounds, and a mini theme park celebrating the genius of Da Vinci are a few of the amenities at France’s grand residences. More France travel info https://www.ricksteves.com/europe/france #ricksteveseurope #ricksteves #francetravel

Visit http://www.ricksteves.com for more information about this destination and other destinations in Europe.

*Check out more Rick Steves’ Europe travel resources:*
• “Rick Steves’ Europe” public television series: https://www.ricksteves.com/watch-read-listen/video/tv-show
• “Travel with Rick Steves” public radio program: https://www.ricksteves.com/watch-read-listen/audio/radio
• European tours: https://www.ricksteves.com/tours
• Guidebooks: https://store.ricksteves.com/shop/guidebooks
• Travel gear: https://store.ricksteves.com/shop/
• Travel classes: https://www.ricksteves.com/watch-read-listen/video/travel-talks
• Rick Steves Audio Europe app: https://www.ricksteves.com/watch-read-listen/audio/audio-europe

Rick Steves, America’s most respected authority on European travel, writes European travel guidebooks, and hosts travel shows on public television and public radio.

00:00 Château Royal d’Amboise
00:48 Château du Clos Lucé
02:50 Château de Beynac
04:19 Château de Cheverny
06:53 Château de Villandry