Amboise Things to Do

3 more images

Get inside the mind of Leonardo da Vinci (Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci) by visiting his final home in France, Clos Luce in Amboise. It is interesting to ramble through the house. The day we were there, there was a man in historic costume playing the part of da Vinci and talking to all the tourists. The children, especially, were enchanted with him.

There is a museum downstairs where you can see some of his inventions and drawings for others. Outside in the park you can see more, including a helicopter that invites children (and many adults) to play with it.

There is a large garden, a fountain court with gift shop and an old mill. There are great walks in the grounds and it's fun to find the inventions.

Since Dan Brown wrote "The Da Vinci Code," the entrance lines here can be daunting. Going later in the day helps somewhat.

After you visit the chateau in Amboise, you will want to walk up to Clos Luce to see Leonardo da Vinci's home and some of his inventions in the park and museum. In the process of walking from the chateau to Clos Luce, you will pass half-timbered buildings and troglodyte houses. The lovely white tuffeau stone used for building the chateaus was dug from the hills resulting in large caves in the hills. Naturally the local people moved into them. Some are fronted with beautiful houses that look perfectly normal until you see them melt into the cliffs behind them. Others are simply the face of the cliff with doors and windows added. Troglodytes are people who live in caves, some magnificent caves and some pretty average looking, but definitely not what most people think of as cave dwellers!

As you walk from the chateau to Clos Luce, look at the cliffs and houses on your left. You will quickly become aware that many houses disappear into the cliffs. You will also see some like those in the photo where there are doors and windows directly in the cliffs. See if you can find the satellite dish on a cave.

4 more images

In season and on Sunday out of season, there are many people in historic costume walking around the chateau and grounds. They are all very cheerful and willingly pose for photos (with you or without you).

This fellow would look pretty unfriendly if you looked at his battle ax, but the big smile makes it all okay. Bet his wife doesn't argue with him much though!

There were costumed children too and they cheerily ran around the grounds playing games as children will. It gave a very festive atmosphere to the gardens. Great for children.

Click on the photo to see some other costumes. They were all lovely.

2 more images

Leonardo spent the last 3 years of his life in this charming chateau. The grounds are immaculate and contain recreations of his amazing inventions for children to explore. There are two venues to watch interesting videos about his life, his art and his scientific inventions. There is a small cafe on the grounds for a cup of tea or refreshing beverage and you can sit in the garden.

Right in the centre of Amboise is the Chateau. You can hardly miss it, you can have a meal or just cofee in the shadow of its great bulk. It is VERY impressive and well worth a visit. This is the touristy part of Amboise, so things are a litle more expensive but the location is pretty.

This was Leonardo da Vinci's last home in France. He spent his last years here and died in his bed. This House and Gardens is well worth the visit. You all know that he was an exceptional man, gifted in many aspect with inventing, painting, sculpting, drawing etc, but probably don't realise exactly HOW gifted until you see this place.

There are working models of his inventions in the grounds and in the house itself. I liked the fact that you can walk round the gardens and sit on the benches provided. There are speakers hung in the trees which tell you in your own language the thoughts and conversations Leonardo had with his apprentice. It is a peaceful place, gives you time to sit and think about things.

4 more images

Castles, Genius and Troglodytes --- besides the impossing castle and Clos Luce (Da Vincis' French home here), there are other things to do in and around Amboise. This is a good homebase for touring the neighboring castles like Chambord and Chonanceau but you can find some interesting troglodyte dwellings in and around Amboise of which, I suspect, served a dual purpose being the former quarry/mines that the castle stone was excavated from. A large group of these are behind the Manoir des Minimes (I think these are free for the looking). Ask a " local" (or Google "troglodyte amboise") for more info. Its really helpful to have a car here (and a major handicap if you don't) as the many grandeous sights are somewhat widespread.

"In this place lies the remains of Leonardo DaVinci."

Da Vinci's final resting place is said to be in the small chapel on the castle grounds at Chateau d'Amboise. He was a good friend to King Francois I and helped design parts of his castles/palaces.