Chambord Castle was built to be a representation of the king’s power and wealth. Named after the famous raspberry liqueur, Chambord Castle is the most prestigious, majestic and extravagant in the Loire Valley.
I highly recommend Chambord Castle with children, because there is plenty to do inside and outside the castle grounds for the whole family. I recently visited again with my kids, who are now 4 and 6, and they both had a great time!
The largest castle in the Loire Valley actually inspired Beauty and the Beast’s castlebut similar to Disney history, the castle was never a royal residence and no one lived there.
Ironically, the only “long-term” resident (80 days) was actually the king of Poland, not France: Stanislaw Leszczynski. However, he moved because it was too cold for him in winter.
For a place with 426 rooms, 282 fireplaces, 800 columns and 77 stairs it is really a shame, but due to its size and high ceiling, it was impossible to keep warm in the place. For this reason, most of the castle remains unfurnished and could surprise any visitor.
Chambord Castle with children
Chambord is huge. One of the most notable features of Chambord is the double spiral staircase – possibly designed by Leonardo da Vinci. It consists of two parallel interlocking stairs, which two people can go up and down without meeting each other.
The children loved going up and down the stairs and I could even let them go alone as it is simply impossible to get lost. It was actually meant to look like the constantnople horizon. From here you could get a great view of the rest of the region, as if the Royals were observing hunts.
They told me that Chambord is also haunted by the ghosts of fallen soldiers of the Franco-Prussian War. The castle was a temporary hospital where most of them died. We didn’t see any ghosts. Boo!
What to do at Chambord Castle with children
One of the two mistakes we made at Chambord was not spending more time at the venue and buying the wrong tickets at the castle website. There are trails through the forest on the property, open fields for picnics and even chances to spot deer or wild boar in the nature reserve. My youngest son, however, was happy collecting rocks for a while and enjoying running around the yard.
The castle puts on a show, usually once a day or twice during the high season. As I understand it, the show alternates between horses and falconry.
We wanted to see it and since tickets tend to sell out, I made sure to book in advance (at least the night before). The show is not included in general admission to the castle, so it must be booked separately.
When booking, the system asked me to upgrade the kids’ tickets to a day pass that included an audio guide and discounts on activities like bike rentals. It seemed like a good deal…until I realized that kids actually get free admission to the castle and only need a discounted ticket to the show. Basically, I ended up paying for something they didn’t need.
The show at Chambord is pretty good. The show is not on the same level as those we saw in Puy du Fou, but according to my children, “It was amazing!” either way. The show tells you the history of the castle in a fun way and includes real horses and dogs, and actors performing some tricks.
Chambord Castle also has a dedicated children’s area with a small library, a play corner, and a pretend play area where children can dress up as the king. Note that this area closes at 5:30pm, while the castle closes at 6pm, so we were kicked out of there, which was disappointing.
That said, strollers are allowed on the ground floor of the castle, but not inside the castle. I would say that it is still difficult to push a stroller on the terrain because of the gravel and small stones, so if you come with a baby, definitely bring a baby carrier.
The same goes for the gardens: to enter the gardens, you must enter before 5:30 pm and you will not be able to access them afterward. Our show ended at 4:45 pm, so we had a little time.
We continued to discover other rooms where they had taxidermy and a hunting gallery (since the castle is located on a huge hunting reserve), which kept the children entertained. There were also temporary exhibitions.
We ended up eating in front of Chambord because there were so many restaurants and there are also smaller, less touristy places in town 10 minutes away. Honestly, I wish I could spend the night nearby, because Blois Castle, less than 10 minutes away, offers an incredible display of lights at dusk.
I highly recommend visiting Chambord Castle with children. My children still talk about their visit and the time they had in Chambord and Chenonceau in the Loire Valley and that they would keep coming back and exploring more.
