Page 181 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Europe

FR ANCE  179

VISITORS’ CHECKLIST
Practical Information
Indre-et-Loire. Tel 02-47 23 90 07.
Open daily; times vary – call for
details. & 8 (audio). 7
limited. 0 - =
∑ chenonceau.com
Transport
£ @ from Tours.

Château de Chambord, on the banks of the Closson
t Château de Hundred Years’ War. Later
Chambord captured by the enemy and
accused of witchcraft, she was
Loir-et-Cher. @ to Blois, then taxi or burned at the stake in Rouen
bus. Tel 02-54 50 40 00. Open daily. at the age of 19. Since her
Closed Jan 1, Feb 4, Dec 25. & 8 martyrdom, Joan has become a
pervasive presence in Orléans.
The brainchild of the extravagant A faded grandeur lingers in
François I, the château began as Vieil Orléans, the old quarter,
a hunting lodge in the Forêt de bounded by the imposing
Boulogne. In 1519, the original Cathédrale Sainte-Croix, the
building was razed and Loire, and the Place du Martroi.
Chambord begun, to a design The Maison de Jeanne d’Arc
probably initiated by Leonardo was rebuilt in 1961 on the site
da Vinci. By 1537, the keep, with where Joan lodged in 1429.
its towers and terraces, had been Inside, audiovisual exhibits and
completed by 1,800 men and a short film recreate her life.
three master masons. The A selection of European
following year, François I began art from the 16th to the early
building a private royal pavilion 20th century is on display at the
on the northeast corner, with a Musée des Beaux-Arts.
Diane de Poitiers connecting two-story gallery. His
son, Henri II, continued the west E Maison de Jeanne d’Arc
Diane de Poitiers was Henry II’s 3 Place du Général de Gaulle. Tel
lifelong mistress, holding court wing with the chapel, and Louis 02-38 68 32 63. Open Tue–Sun (Oct–
as queen of France in all but XIV completed the 440-roomed Mar: pm only). Closed public hols. &
name. Her beauty inspired edifice in 1685.
many French artists, who The innovative double-helix
often depicted her in the Grand Staircase was supposedly
role of Diana, the Classical designed by Leonardo da Vinci.
goddess of the hunt. The two flights of stairs ensure
In 1547, Henry offered the that the person going up
Château de Chenonceau to and the person going down
Diane, who improved the cannot meet.
palace by creating stunning
formal gardens and an arched
bridge over the Cher River. y Orléans
After Henry’s accidental
death in 1559, Diane was Loiret. * 113,000. k £ @ n
forced to leave Chenonceau 2 Place de l’Etape (02-38 24 05 05). (
by his widow, Catherine de’ Tue–Sun. _ Fête Jeanne d’Arc (Apr
Medici, in exchange for the 29–May 9). ∑ tourisme-orleans.com
fortress-like Château de
Chaumont. Diane retired to Orléans was the capital of
Anet, and remained there medieval France, and it was
until her death in 1566. here that Joan of Arc battled The lofty interior of the Cathédrale
the English in 1429, during the Sainte-Croix, Orléans

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