Travel to France

Day 2 Sambin - Cheverny - Blois - Sambin (52 Km.)

Declared World Heritage by UNESCO, the Loire Valley brings together dozens of castles that recall the palatial luxury in the history of France. One of them, Cheverny, inspired Hergé to create Moulinsart Castle, home of Tintin and his inseparable companions.

(in 16 Km.) Château de Cheverny: Today one of the most famous castles of the Loire, belongs to the descendants of the family Hurault. Ordered to be built by 1620, with Cheverny was invented the French architecture style in the first half of the seventeenth century. The dining room was part of the restauration in the nineteenth century for large gala dinners and receptions. It is inspired by the scenery of the seventeenth century, with its upholstered walls with its upholstered walls and ceilings Cordoba leather with the coat of arms of the Hurault: a blue cross and red suns, the monumental stone fireplace, gilded with gold leaf topped with a bust of King Henry IV.

Private apartments are refurbishment and decoration to the Viscount and Viscountess Sigalas, father of the Marquis de Vibraye. Inhabited until 1985, are open to visitors from the date. The beautiful furniture is one of the masterpieces of the art of living à la française. Yellow camera, called the House of births, will allow to young mothers to receive and present to their newborns to the family. Follows a small red living room, one quarter of young lady, blue chamber, the family dining room and a small hall.

The weapons room is the largest in the Castle. It has retained its original dimensions and decoration. On the carved wooden fireplace and decorated, the gods Mercury and Venus frame the love story of Adonis. Among the works illustrated in this room is a famous episode of the Greek tradition to Homer in the Iliad and the Odyssey. This room features a collection of weapons from the XV and XVI (heavy two-handed swords, armor and halberd) and XVII century (swords, crossbows, muskets, and pistols).

A forest of one hundred hectares surrounds the castle with a garden in the French reconstituted. The main avenue in front of the castle is a long road of four miles. We hire the visit of the garden, which includes a miniature train ride through the garden and a small boat ride on the canal. The doghouse is occupied by around ninety hunting dogs and whose feeding is a spectacle. It also highlights the vegetable garden of the castle, located next to the hunting trophy room and the sequoias.

(in 17 Km.) Blois: Blois castle was the residence of various kings of France. Joan of Arc was blessed in him by the Archbishop of Reims before leaving to conduct the siege of Orleans. The medieval castle of the Counts of Blois became the residence of King Louis XII. In early 1500, the king began a reconstruction of the castle and the creation of a Renaissance garden (today missing).

Opposite the castle is the former home of the watchmaker, inventor and magician Jean Eugéne Robert-Houdin (1805-71), alteration of which was called the great Houdini himself. This building houses the Maison de la Magie. You can admire beautiful views over the city from the Jardins de l´Évéché and from the top of the Escalier Denis Papin.

Despite the serious damage caused by German attacks in 1940, is worth exploring the old town of Blois, especially around the Cathedral of St-Louis, with its beautiful bell tower with several floors, dramatically lit by night. The seventeenth-century cathedral is Gothic. Highlight stained glass windows though most of them were installed by the Dutch artist Jan Dibberts in 2000.

(in 19 Km.) We returned to Sambin.