Chateau Chambord, Loire Valley, France

Once upon a time, in a faraway land, a young Prince lived in a shining castle…

When we visited Chateau Chambord, I couldn’t help but hear the prologue from Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, my favorite animated film, in my head. This is because Chambord is the chateau that inspired the animators on their research trip to the Loire Valley when the film was in the early stages of development.

Chateau Chambord, the inspiration for the Beast's castle

It's not hard to see how the Disney artists were inspired by its architecture - a mixture of medieval and Renaissance styles. We visited Chambord in late March, just before the high tourist season, and the weather that day was a chilly spring day. There was something truly magical about the chateau suddenly appearing around the corner from the tour bus stop. It’s situated about 30 minutes from Blois and the bus ride was a lovely tour of the countryside. 

It’s interesting to know Chambord was built as a hunting lodge – basically a summer home – for the French royalty and during World War II, several pieces of art from the Louvre and Musee d’Orsay, the Mona Lisa included, were kept safe temporarily at in the chapel.

The sun came out briefly while we were in the chapel and cast some beautiful light from the stained-glass windows on the stone floor. 

Just outside of the chapel, a row of thirsty gargoyles peered down from the upper terrace.

And just as we were making our final pass around the exterior, I found a beautiful, worn stone bridge over the moat, and not too far from the bridge, a rugged stone bench! 

The views from both the bridge and the bench were extraordinary, just like the chateau.

What a treat to go to the real place that inspired that tale as old as time!