Amboise is located 25 km east of Tours, going upstream on the Loire in the direction of Blois. It's a small town but it has a lot of history and there are a lot of things to see.
The town is incredibly charming but also a bit touristy. It is dominated by the castle which is built on the site of a fort constructed by the Gauls. The present castle was built by Louis XII at the beginning of the 16-th century. Other sights in town are the Hotel de Ville (dating from around 1500) and the Tour de l'Horloge (14-th century), the Church of St. Denis, which was founded in the 4-th century and last but not least the Manoir du Clos Lucé, where Leonardo da Vinci lived when he worked for the French king Francois I. |
