Amboise on the Loire

Another of the famous and well-visited châteaux in the Loire Valley is the Château d'Amboise. It was one of the royal castles, inhabited by the same king who built Chambord: François the First. It had been a few years since we were inside this one, and we had an opportunity to revisit it when our friends J and C were in town last week.

La Tour des Minimes above the Loire River at Amboise. Click on the picture to crenelate.

This photo features la Tour des Minimes. It's taken from up on one of the terraces of the castle which sits on a bluff about forty meters above the Loire River. The tower encloses an amazing spiral ramp up which horses and carriages could climb from the town below. The self-guided tour of the castle takes visitors partway up the ramp.

The Château d'Amboise is the final resting place of Leonardo da Vinci; his tomb is built into the floor of the Chapelle Saint-Hubert on the castle grounds. The chapel was completed in the late fifteenth century by then King Charles VIII. King François the First brought da Vinci to Amboise in 1516 where he lived out his final days. He died here on May 2, 1519.