![]() Chambord’s dramatic pastįrancis I never saw the chateau finished. Teeming with turrets and towers, gleaming white stone contrasts with its pointy black slate roof, it is a magnificent display of power and taste. And, he’s right, this really does look like a magical castle, with an ethereal air, almost delicate but over powering at the same time. The great French writer Victor Hugo said of it “All magic… all madness is represented in the bizarreness of this palace of fairy kings and queens”. And yet Francis spent only 40 nights there in total.Ĭhambord is dazzling and unlike any other Chateau. Immense, architecturally stunning with a double helix staircase whose design may well be by da Vinci, it cost a fortune. ![]() He began work on the castle in 1519, inspired by Leonardo da Vinci (who died that year) and who had been working for the King for the last three years. Built by Francis 1, the flamboyant King of France (born 1494). Ostentatious, flamboyant and fabulous Chateau de Chambord Beds, chairs, cutlery, dishes, tapestries etc were expensive and even the royal family seldom decked out their chateaux with permanent collections. Unlike today when owners furnish their holiday homes, in the old days, people carried their belonging from home to home. Those who owned chateaux didn’t usually live in them permanently, there are some exceptions, but on the whole, owners visited them rarely, taking their possessions with them. Byway offers a tailored six-day journey to the Netherlands.The Chateaux in the Loire were created to be second homes and visual symbols of power and wealth. Spend some time exploring Rotterdam to see its eyecatching architecture, street art and the transformation of its once industrial docks. Here you can cycle to Castle De Haar or take the local bus to see dinky Oud-Zuilen and its 18th century mansion house. A few days later, travel the two and a half hours south by train to Utrecht, a historic university city with a lively canalside bar and café scene. This sleepy harbourside town with its red brick townhouses, canals and cobbled streets makes a great base to explore the coastline and its vast beaches backed by dunes and wetlands. To get to know the country without the crowds, exit the Eurostar at the port city of Rotterdam to head north to Harlingen on the coast of the Wadden Sea. Off the beaten path in the NetherlandsĪmsterdam isn’t the only destination in the Netherlands. ![]() On the canal in Harlingen (Getty Images) 5. Eurostar guide: everything you need to know before you travel.You can extend your stay with a few nights in the capital of the Cotswolds, Cirencester, a one-time Roman settlement that’s now a handsome market town for a seven-day tour including guided walks, transfers and accommodation, get in touch with Ramblers. As for your accommodation, there are poshed-up coaching inns and classic, honey-stoned country houses to choose between. A network of footpaths criss-cross it all, and connect to arboreta, world renowned gardens and National Trust homes. Between an array of tea shop-filled villages - many with pretty names such as Chipping Norton or Bourton-on-the-Water - comes the most gently rolling countryside imaginable, all hedgerows, chalk rivers and bright green fields. There’s nowhere quite like the oh-so-English Cotswolds. If you click and buy a product, we may earn revenue.īliss Tweed Mill in Chipping Norton (Alamy) 1. These buttons and adverts are clearly signposted, and provide direct links through to external sites. ![]() We also feature properties and itineraries from a specially selected list of trusted operators. Our travel journalism is written and edited by independent experts to inform, inspire and advise our readers about the best choices for your holidays.
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