La Loire à Vélo day 6 - 63 km from Orléans to Blois
Today’s ride was planned to be around 63 km, but ended up somewhat longer to a detour to Chambord. However, of all the châteaux of the Loire, Chambord stands out as one of the most famous for its incredible architecture. It really isn’t an optional detour – you must do it.
The day started with the usual gentle riding along the banks of the river with my first stop at the 13th century Bishop’s Palace in Meung-sur-Loire. I walked around the grounds and had a look inside the church.
8 km further, I stopped in Beaugency, a small town with a beautiful medieval centre. However, I needed to keep going so I had a look inside the church and then rode onwards.
About 16 km from Beaugency, I took the detour to Chambord. The distance was a bit longer than I expected, but after a little while, I entered the woodland that makes up part of the grounds of the château. Riding along a forest path, I eventually came out of the woods with the château in sight.
Chambord is really not one to miss. The architecture is magnificent and so detailed and it is surrounded by gardens and a moat. For such a spectacular palace, it is a bit surreal to realise that even in its heyday, it was usually empty with very little furniture. French king Francois I started building it in 1519 as a hunting lodge. Somewhere that he could invite visiting dignitaries if he wanted to impress them with his wealth and power. He and his entourage would bring furniture with them to fill the palace during their visits and then take it all away again.
For cycling, have some Shimano pedals with a cleat on one side and flat on the other. This enables me to wear SPD shoes most of the time but to switch to other more normal shoes if I wish. Unfortunately, wearing SPD shoes means there is a metal cleat on the bottom which is not ideal when walking around old buildings and potentially damaging the floors. Having left my other shoes in my bags in the bicycle parking area, I happened to be wearing the SPD shoes when I reached the entrance to the palace. Fortunately, one of the staff at the entrance took me aside and wrapped blue tape around my shoes to prevent damage.
One of the staircases in the building is a double helix and it is rumoured that Leonardo da Vinci designed it. From what I understand, there is no evidence that was the case, but he was living nearby at the time, so who knows?
Blois was the centre of the Rennaissance in France. There is a steep climb into the town if you wish to reach the area around the château, and admittedly, that is where my hotel was. My bicycle loaded with bags, I must admit that part way up the hill, I decided that it was time to get off and push.
It would definitely be easier if I could have stayed near the bottom of the hill and left my bags there, but I am very pleased that I didn’t. I would stay at the same hotel again on a future return to Blois.
I stayed at the Logis Hôtel le Monarque which is a very well located hotel, right next to the Château Royal de Blois. The nearby Château de Cheverny is known as the inspiration for the family home of Captain Haddock in the Tintin series. In honour of that, this hotel has a substantial Tintin collection. The walls are covered in posters and there are shelves full of figurines, lunchboxes, and other such memorabilia.
I was a bit worn out from my day of riding, so I didn’t want to stray too far across town. So I had my meal at the hotel and found it to be excellent. I enjoyed a fish cake to start, followed by chicken breast on a bed of polenta with a delicious sauce, and finally soft meringue.