Chenonceau & Amboise - Travel Highlights - Day 5

We started our 5th day in France at a bakery near our hotel in Amboise then we headed to the Chenonceau early.  We were the first ones through the gate but people rushed past us as we marched to the chateau.

Originally the home stood over the river with an almost-square floor plan.  Prince Henry II gave the home to his mistress as a gift.  Henri’s mistress commissioned a bridge over the river for new gardens on the opposite side of the river.  12 years later King Henry II died and his Queen claimed the home for herself.  She built two galleries on the mistress’ bridge.  In WWI those galleries served as a military hospital.  In WWII the river below the bridge formed part of the border between occupied France and unoccupied France.  Many were smuggled through this home to freedom across the water.

After we walked through the house I went out back.

Then I joined up with Carolyn and my mom in the front yard.

On the grounds they have a maze.

After visiting the Chenonceau we headed back to Amboise for lunch.  We took a walking tour that started at the Romanesque church dating back to the 1100s.  We sauntered down the Rue national, the main pedestrian drag.

We crossed part of the Loire river to an island in the middle of the Loire for cheese and wine as the sun set.

Before Paris, Amboise was the seat of medieval France’s power.  Now it’s a pleasure town.

Join us next time when we visit the Chartes cathedral before heading into Switzerland for our first night in Lucerne.