Today I picked up a couple of biker friends from North Vancouver who are on holiday in Paris for a couple of weeks. The timing was too good for not taking them to see the real French countryside, but it was also too short to do a bike ride. So after meeting at a railway station an hour South of Paris, we went to visit one of the most famous, Loire valley castle, Chambord.
Francois the 1st was an avid hunter, and he build Chambord to accommodate his passion. Today it is state property as well as the forest surrounding it. It is also one of the last site where horse hunting is practice a couple of times a year. The french army occupy part of the castle and horses stables are still active.
The castle features 440 rooms, 365 fireplaces, and 84 staircases. But to me the coolest part is the central staircase which is a double helix.
