Blois is a town built on a slope, and the château is the reason you see it from miles away. It rises above the Loire on a spur of rock, a jumble of different eras in a single courtyard: a medieval hall, a Gothic wing from the time of Louis XII in brick and stone, a Renaissance wing with a spectacular open spiral staircase, built for François I, and a classical wing by François Mansart. Four centuries of French taste, neatly stacked, and all of it was at one time a royal residence.
The château was also the scene of one of the great dramas of French history. In December 1588, King Henri III had the Duke of Guise, his rival and the leader of the Catholic League, murdered in the royal apartments, and the Duke's brother, the Cardinal, killed the next day. Catherine de' Medici, the king's mother, died in the château a few weeks later. A few years earlier, in 1429, Joan of Arc had her standard blessed in Blois before setting out to relieve Orléans, and a statue of her stands near the cathedral.
The town has other pleasures. The old centre has steep, narrow streets and half-timbered houses, and the Maison de la Magie, a museum of illusion, honours Jean-Eugène Robert-Houdin, the conjuror born in Blois who inspired the name of Houdini. A stone bridge links the two banks of the Loire, and from it the view of the town, stacked on its hill, is the one you want for a photograph, best in the late afternoon.
For the rider, Blois is the hub of the châteaux country. Chambord, Cheverny, Chaumont and Amboise all lie within an hour's ride, on quiet roads through forest, vineyard and farmland, with a smooth surface and gentle curves. Traffic is heavy in July and August, with tour buses at the major sites, and it is much better to ride in spring or early autumn, when the light is soft and the crowds thin. The levees along the river carry some of the best roads, with views of the water and the white tufa cliffs.
With more than fifty thousand people, Blois has everything: fuel, supermarkets, restaurants and parking, though the old town is steep and the cobbles in the centre can be slippery in rain. The smell of the river and warm stone, and the sound of church bells over the roofs, make it a very pleasant place to stop.