Au Charme Rabelaisien

Visit other chateaus nearby

by Beausoleil

I'm not sure this qualifies as "off the beaten path" since these are also famous chateaus. However, Amboise is a good base for exploring the area since it's easy to drive and to get in and out of town. There are many wonderful chateaus within an easy drive so take advantage of it and visit:

Chaumont, east of Amboise on the Loire, is a gorgeous chateau with magnificent river views and magical gardens. Check Chaumont on VT to see photos of the gardens. There is a garden competition every year with a different theme and it is fun to visit: My VT Chaumont garden site is at http://members.virtualtourist.com/m/tp/1c57b6/

A bit further up the Loire river is Blois, a busy city with a magnificent chateau. Here's a link to my Blois site on VT. http://members.virtualtourist.com/m/7ba16/20e19/ and I encourage you to type Blois into the VT Search Window and check as many pages as you can. There are some wonderful Tips and Reviews on VT and it's lots of fun to read them and look at the photos.

Continue on to Chambord, not on the river but the largest Loire chateau and very impressive. There is also a very nice equestrian show at Chambord. There are other activities too and it's a great place to take children. http://members.virtualtourist.com/m/7ba16/1ff30/

Moving inland there is Cheverny, a beautifully furnished chateau, and you can watch the feeding of the hounds. The grounds are lovely too and there is a wonderful vegetable garden. http://members.virtualtourist.com/m/7ba16/1f8cc/

We enjoyed the medieval chateau at Fougeres-sur-Bievre. It is set up as an educational chateau so there are exhibits both inside and out. It is a very impressive building in a tiny, very neat little village. There are animals in the garden the kids (or you) might enjoy. http://members.virtualtourist.com/m/7ba16/1e12e/

Headed south but still near Amboise is Montrichard with a small chateau and a wonderful raptor show. If you enjoy birds and falconing, this is a must-see. http://members.virtualtourist.com/m/7ba16/18d8d/

Back in the direction of Amboise, visit Chenonceau on the river Cher. This is the magical white chateau that is built across the river. It is nicely furnished and has two magnificent gardens. There is also a small farm area where you can view (and pet) animals and walk through the potager garden. http://members.virtualtourist.com/m/7ba16/1f949/

And you are now nearly back to Amboise for a lovely dinner in town and a walk along the Loire before bedtime.

On another day you can head west and visit Tours, Villandry, Luynes, Langeais, Usse, Chinon and Azay-le-Rideau, my personal favorite chateau.

Go to http://members.virtualtourist.com/m/7ba16/28/ and scroll down to the Travelogues. I have photos of 16 different Loire Valley chateaus. These are all famous ones but be aware that you can visit nearly any town in France and find a chateau, often open to visits. They vary from medieval to classic and are in varying states of repair but all are interesting and most have wonderful views from the towers. This was to keep an eye out for the enemy in times gone by but it gives tourists today great views!

Mini Chateaux Val de Loire

by Suet

This was the business! Having been somewhat disappointed with the Aquarium, we had purchased, at a discount, a further ticket for this attraction. What an absolute joy this was. When you entered, there were costumes for princes and princesses, knights and kings in the entrance for the children. What a brilliant idea! The children could dress up and pretend to be their heros and gallop around on imaginary horses amongst the really stunning miniature Chateaux. Each castle was lovingly recreated in fine detail in wood and stone. Quite frankly, when you scroll down to the pictures I took, you could not tell the difference between the models and the real thing. It was an all afternoon affair and I would have happily spent all day there examining the minutiae of the model buildings.

They also had, quite bizarrely, model trains running around the castles and over the small bridges and around the ponds. I would not neccesarily have connected the two things, but the children seemed to love it and it made Hubby's day. He loves trains.

Well worth a visit!!!

Chateau d’Amboise: La Chapelle de St-Hubert Part 2

by von.otter

“No being disappears into the void.”
— Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519)

While Chateau d’Amboise was an active royal residence, at this Chapel of St. Hubert a hunting Mass was held before the lords went out on their horses with their hounds. The noble and powerful assisted with the Mass but were usually impatient to get on with their favorite sport.

Part of the chapel’s exterior Flamboyant style are gargoyles (see photo #5).

Louis-Philippe, King of the French, restored the chapel during his reign in the 1830s and 1840s.

Entry to the chapel is included with general admission to Chateau d’Amboise and its grounds.

For more photos and information about this wonderful chapel, see my Part 1 entry for la chapelle de St-Hubert.

Leonardo's Inventions

by Goner

King Francis I. invited Leonardo da Vinci to spend the last span of life in Amboise at the court of France. In autumn 1516 Leonardo arrived in Amboise. In his baggage was the famous painting Mona Lisa.

In the basement of the chateau are models of his inventions (made by IBM); from the submarine to the helicopter and including a bicyle - pretty phenominal. This man was of course a genius and in many areas from art to invention.

From a great height ;-)

by ATLC

Amboise was where we decided to visit the Son et Lumière show around the castle. We bought tickets on arrival of our visit, then wandered around the little town, visited Clos-Lucé where Leonardo da Vinci lived and died, had dinner and then to the show!

"From a great height"

Well, if you want to know what I mean by that, read my Warning tip here :-)