1	Les Châteaux de France. The beautiful castle palaces of France.
2	Where are the châteaux? Most châteaux are in the Valley of the River Loire The Loire is the longest river in France
3	Background Originally the châteaux were fortified like castles. This was because thee was a lot of unrest in France and people wanted safety from attack. This is an early château which has many features of a defensive castle, including a moat.
4	Background As France became more peaceful, the châteaux became more like palaces Greater attention was placed on their beauty than on their defensive qualities.
5	The Loire Valley The Loire Valley was the most popular place for the rulers of France to place their châteaux. The river made communication easier. The area has a natural beauty. It was not too distant from Paris, the capital. Building materials such as good quality stone and wood were easily available.
6	Chambord The château of Chambord was built for King François 1^st. He brought Leonardo da Vinci back from Italy to help him with its design.
7	Chambord King François 1^st had fought in wars in Italy He was very impressed with the new Renaissance buildings he had seen there He hoped that Leonardo would be able to bring these new ideas to France.
8	"The building of the château..." The building of the château started in 1519 and took about 30 years. It is probably the most recognisable of all the chateaux because of its distinct shape. It left the other kings of Europe gasping in admiration at the time, but François actually spent very little time in his masterpiece.
9	Chambord It has: 440 rooms 365 chimneys (one for each day of the year - but really to enable each room to be independently heated) 80 staircases and 800 sculptured columns.
10	Layout of Chambord The layout and design of the château follows the definition for perfection of scale You can see how it fits exactly the perfect (Vitruvian) man of Leonardo Its design is based on geometric figures to create a perfect symmetry. Source: service éducatif du domain nationale de Chambord.
11	Leonardo’s Staircase. This is the famous double helix staircase designed by Leonardo da Vinci The two staircases never intersect
12	Leonardo’s Staircase. Inside the staircases. The windows allow you to see those using the other stairs
13	The bell tower The stairs lead to the roof and the bell tower.
14	The roof of Chambord This is part of the roof of the château From here, the King could admire his domain Spot the decorated chimneys and the bell tower.
15	The château roof. The decorations on the roof are very intricate.
16	The domain This is part of what the King could see. it is the biggest forest park in Europe - 5, 400 hectares in area. It is surrounded by a wall 32 km in length.
17	The domain There are six gateways to gain entrance to the park. In the park, there are 23 farms King François used to hunt deer and wild boars here. The park has rivers, marshes, forests and heath land.
18	The building. Here are some external stairs leading to the roof. They are located in the inner courtyard. Note the decoration.
19	The symbol of François The salamander was the symbol of François 1^st. You can see it all over the château – on doors, walls and ceilings.
20	The symbol of François The salamander was a mythical creature that was even able to survive fire Perhaps its wondrous ability to survive was what attracted the King to choose it as his symbol
21	The salamander And here he is again, carved into a stone wall panel and painted in real gold.
22	The salamander And here he is on an archway, with the king’s initial.