Amboise: the royal château and Leonardo's last home

The château stands on rock above the Loire. Its heyday was the late 15th and early 16th centuries: Charles VIII returned from Italian wars with Italian craftsmen and gardeners and began turning the fortress into a Renaissance palace. Francis I grew up here, making it one of France's main royal courts.

What to see:

• Saint Hubert Chapel, a small Gothic chapel on the terrace edge, with Leonardo da Vinci's tomb.

• Royal apartments, Gothic and Renaissance halls.
• Minimes and Heurtault towers, broad towers with ramps allowing horsemen to ride directly from the street to the terrace.
• The terrace, one of the finest views over the Loire and tiled town roofs.
• The gardens, an Italian-style garden on the terrace.

Only part survives: most buildings were demolished after the Revolution.

In 1516, Francis I invited Leonardo da Vinci to France and settled him at Clos Lucé, minutes from the château. Leonardo brought paintings including the Mona Lisa, which is how it reached France. He lived here until his death in 1519.

What to see:

• The rooms, bedroom, workshop and kitchen, furnished in period style.

• Machine models based on Leonardo's drawings, in the basement and park: tank, helicopter, bridges and waterwheels. Many can be touched and turned, delighting children.
• Leonardo's park, with reproductions of drawings, plants from his notes and full-sized inventions.

Legend tells of an underground passage linking château and house, used by the king to visit the master.

Three kilometres from the centre, Chanteloup Pagoda is an 18th-century Chinese pagoda in a park, the last remnant of the Duke of Choiseul's vast château. Climb for forest and Loire valley views. In summer, visitors picnic and row boats on the pond.

Streets beneath the château, old clock gate and Loire embankment. A large riverside market takes place on Sundays. Near the château, cave houses are cut into tuffeau limestone.

Touraine vineyards surround Amboise:

• Touraine-Amboise, the local appellation: Chenin whites, and reds from Gamay, Cabernet Franc and Côt, or Malbec;

• Vouvray and Montlouis, Chenin Blanc, 15–20 minutes away;
• Crémant de Loire, sparkling wine.

Many wineries occupy tuffeau-cut cellars. For Chenin, read “Sancerre and Vouvray”.

• Tours rillettes and rillons, shredded pork spread and pork-belly pieces.

• Sainte-Maure-de-Touraine goat's cheese, with a straw through its centre.
• Tarte Tatin, invented nearby in the Sologne.
• Hazelnuts and dried apples, a Touraine speciality, pommes tapées.

• From Paris, take a connecting train to Amboise, or a TGV to Tours or Saint-Pierre-des-Corps, around one to two hours, then a TER train for 15–20 minutes.

• From Tours, 20 minutes by train or 25 by car.
• By bicycle, along Loire à Vélo; Amboise–Chenonceau is a popular vineyard route.

Read “Château de Chenonceau” and “Château de Chambord”.

• April–June and September–October: the best periods.

• July–August: crowds; arrive at opening.
• December: Christmas markets in Amboise and Tours.

In 1515, young Francis I won the Battle of Marignano and entered Milan. Leonardo's work fascinated him. In 1516, he invited the 64-year-old master to France, appointed him “first painter, engineer and architect to the king” and gave him Clos Lucé and a pension. Leonardo crossed the Alps on a mule with his pupils and three paintings: the Mona Lisa, The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne and Saint John the Baptist. All three are now in the Louvre.

In Amboise, Leonardo worked on royal projects: court festivities with mechanical lions and fireworks, canals and a new royal town at Romorantin. Many historians think his ideas influenced Chambord's double-helix staircase, although there is no proof.

Leonardo died at Clos Lucé on 2 May 1519. Legend says Francis I held him in his final moments, a scene later painted by artists, although records place the king elsewhere that day. Leonardo was buried in the château's church; after its destruction in the 19th century, remains believed to be his were moved to Saint Hubert Chapel.

In the 15th–16th centuries, French kings lived on the Loire rather than in Paris: good hunting, a mild climate and safety drew them here. The court moved between châteaux, with Amboise a principal residence. Charles VIII was born here; Francis I grew up here with his sister Marguerite of Navarre. Under Henry II, his children and young Mary Stuart, the future Queen of Scots, were raised at Amboise.

There are darker chapters. The Amboise conspiracy, a Protestant plot against the Guise family, was uncovered in 1560; conspirators were executed on the château walls. It was among the events leading to France's Wars of Religion. Charles VIII died absurdly here: in 1498, he struck his head on a low door lintel and died hours later.

Amboise is one of the Loire's best family towns. At Clos Lucé, children turn wheels and levers on Leonardo's machines; the park has bridges and full-sized models. Nearby are Mini-Châteaux park, with models of 40 Loire châteaux, and the Touraine aquarium, one of Europe's largest freshwater aquariums. Summer brings costumed château performances; Chanteloup offers boating and picnics.

• Central Amboise: hotels and guesthouses below the château, everything walkable.

• Vineyard chambres d'hôtes: peaceful, with breakfast at the hosts' home.
• Cave hotels: tuffeau-cut rooms, unusual and cool in summer.

Amboise is a convenient two- to three-day base for the eastern valley: Chenonceau, Chambord, Blois and Cheverny are all within an hour.

Amboise is a food town, with several good central restaurants and surrounding farms and wineries. Order:

• Rillettes and rillons, a classic Touraine starter, with bread and Chenin;

• Pike or pike-perch with beurre blanc, the Loire-born butter, shallot and wine sauce;
• Rabbit with prunes;
• Sainte-Maure goat's cheese, salad and walnuts;
• Tarte Tatin, an upside-down caramelised apple tart.

Lunch runs noon–2 pm, dinner from 7:30 pm. Many restaurants close Sunday evening and Monday: plan ahead. In summer, book a terrace table beneath the château.

On Sunday mornings, the Loire embankment hosts one of the valley's largest markets: hundreds of stalls with vegetables, cheeses, charcuterie, wine and honey, as well as clothing and tableware. Friday's market is smaller. Buy rillettes, goat's cheese, fresh bread and a bottle of Montlouis, then picnic on the Loire island or in Chanteloup's park.

Loire à Vélo passes through Amboise. Its most popular stretch reaches Chenonceau, around 20 km through woods and vineyards. Central rental shops offer bicycles, including electric models; some deliver to your hotel and collect at Chenonceau. Quiet minor roads make it suitable for families. Visit Amboise château in the morning, cycle during the day, see Chenonceau after lunch and return by taxi or train in the evening.

Amboise is quiet in winter, but the château and Clos Lucé open almost year-round. December brings a Christmas market, decorated château rooms and Christmas trees at Clos Lucé. Hotels are cheaper and tastings quieter: the winemaker can guide you personally through the cave. A good time if you dislike crowds.

Adult admission is around €17 for the royal château, €20 for Clos Lucé and €15 for Chanteloup. Combined tickets and child and family discounts exist. Buy summer tickets online to avoid queues. Central restaurant lunch costs €25–45; a Touraine tasting is often free or €5–15, deducted from wine purchases. Central hotels start at €100 a night, €150 in season.

Touraine and Vouvray wines, Sainte-Maure goat's cheese, jars of rillettes, macarons from nearby Cormery, among France's oldest, pommes tapées dried apples and, for children, Leonardo machine models from Clos Lucé's shop.

Tours is a large city with a station, restaurants and the old Plumereau quarter, useful without a car: trains and buses reach the châteaux, and day tours are available. Amboise is small and welcoming, with the château overhead, better for drivers or cyclists. Many visitors combine two nights in Amboise for the eastern châteaux and one in Tours for restaurants and an old-town walk. For nearby wines, read “Sancerre and Vouvray”.

1. Seeing only the château and missing Clos Lucé.
2. Arriving at midday in July.
3. Not allowing time for Leonardo's park: it needs an hour.
4. Thinking Leonardo is buried in Italy. His tomb is in Amboise.
5. Not tasting Touraine wines.

Our Loire wine tour includes Amboise and Clos Lucé, Chenonceau and Chambord, Vouvray cellars and Sancerre. → Loire château wine tour · Château de Chenonceau · Château de Chambord