You'd think it would be hard to top a Nice-Cannes-St. Tropez experience. Sun, sand, beach, exquisite wines, fresh seafood, leave you basking in a golden after-glow, purring with contentment. Then again, there's Paris!
Flying in from the South of France, we landed in Paris but immediately drove out to spend the night at the 1547-built Château de Chambord, a sprawling French classical edifice which, with its profusion of towers, cupolas, gables, lanterns and chimneys, reminded Henry James more of the spires of a city than the salient point of a single building. The 177 km drive from Paris to Chambord through the picturesque Loire valley, favoured destination of castle-building French nobility, took just two hours. We drove in through the extensive grounds - the château is surrounded by a 52.5 km/13,400 acre park and game reserve encircled by a 31km wall. I gasped as the sprawling Hansel-and-Gretel-esque castle loomed into view. In the foreground, four black Fell ponies yoked to toy carriages giving joy rides to shiny-faced kids. In the background is the massive 440-room castle, which my guide told me had 282 fireplaces and 84 staircases including a unique double-spiralled staircase designed, legend has it, by Leonardo Da Vinci, which allowed two people to climb up three floors without seeing each other. We walked up a simpler but quaint medieval stone staircase to our rooms in the tower for a quick wash before dinner.