Amboise

Back to our Loire Valley trip in the year 2000. You'll remember that we were based in Vouvray. Very close by, back up the river a bit, is the town of Amboise which boasts a terrific château up on the heights.

The Château d'Amboise perched high about the Loire River.

It was in 1492, when Columbus set sail for the new world, that Charles VIII of France started construction to expand the original buildings on the site (where he spent his childhood) into the castle we see today (or what's left of it).

The bridge over the Loire at Amboise. In the center is a small island where there are houses, a hotel, and a few restaurants.

Along with garden terraces and the jewel of a chapel, la Chappelle St.-Hubert, the views from the castle and its grounds of the Loire River valley are spectacular.

Flags fly in the wind on the now grassy terrace of the château.

Of course, the town of Amboise itself is a great place to stroll, shop, and eat. On Fridays and Sundays, the town's outdoor riverside market is a feast of sights and smells. The Friday market is a scaled down version of Sunday's event. I say event because the Sunday market draws great crowds from all over the region and feels more like a fair than a market.

Inside the Chapelle St.-Hubert the sun filters through stained glass windows.

We now live about a half-hour's drive from Amboise and go over to the market every now and then. We have great markets closer to us but none are as large as the one in Amboise, nor are they in such an amazing setting. There are also a couple of stores we go to once in a while in and around Amboise including a LeClerc supermarket, a great garden center, a couple of ATAC supermarkets, and a produce store.

Amboise is a great place to spend a couple of days. I'll post some more images in the coming days.