Blois, France Hotels, Vacations, Tourism

The château at BLOIS , the handsome former seat of the dukes of Orléans, is one of the most stately and historic of them all. Its great facade rises above the modern town like a great Italianate cliff, with the dramatic esplanade and courtyard behind and the rooms within steeped in, sometimes bloody, history. The town itself is unexceptional but makes a good base for getting out into the countryside, with several stretches of woodland within striking distance including the Forêt de Blois to the west of the town on the north bank of the Loire, and the Parc de Chambord and Forêt de Boulogne , further … more »