- Type
- Palace / château
- Built
- c. 1492 · 15th century
- Location
- Centre-Val de Loire, France
- Style
- International Gothic
- Coordinates
- 47.4137°, 0.9860°
History
The fortified hill above the Loire belonged to the Amboise family until Charles VII confiscated the castle for the crown in 1434. Charles VIII, born here in 1470, launched a major rebuilding around 1492, and after his Italian campaign he brought in Italian artists and gardeners, who introduced some of the first Renaissance touches to the Loire valley. Francis I spent his youth here and in 1516 invited Leonardo da Vinci to the nearby manor of Clos Lucé. In 1560 the château saw the bloody suppression of a Protestant plot known as the Conspiracy of Amboise. After the Revolution most of the buildings were demolished, and only part of the former residence survives.
What to see
The terraces above the Loire offer one of the finest views in the valley. Visitors tour the Gothic King's Wing with its council hall and furnished rooms, as well as two massive towers, the Minimes and the Hurtault, whose broad ramps allowed riders and carriages to climb to the top. At the edge of the gardens stands the Gothic Chapel of Saint-Hubert with Leonardo da Vinci's tomb.
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