Amboise – Great Base for Exploring the Loire Valley
The charming town of Amboise has been a great place to base ourselves whilst exploring a little bit of the Loire Valley. We have been here for the last three days enjoying a peaceful location a stone’s throw from the banks of the Loire River and a short walking distance from the town.
Great food, wine, chateaux galore, and fascinating history is what brings hordes of tourist here to the Loire Valley every year. We have beaten the crowds by arriving earlier…in the low season and we got fabulous weather to boot.
Amboise has been lively, but not over run with tourists, being within easy to reach from Paris I can imagine this place being a lot busier in the high season. The town center has a great pedestrianized road with lovely shops, patisseries, creperies, restaurants, and cafes.
The small Aire is costing us 12 EURO per day with all services included and a 16 AMP electric hook up ( N 47°25′ 3” E 0° 59’15” ) There are enough spaces for about 25 vans, but there is only us and 3 other vans here now, in the low season. What a gem of a place this Aire is being so near the action, we are loving it here.
We love it so much that we have all been breaking the Aire rules. We are all only allowed to stay parked at this Aire for 48 hours, so our time was up soon after lunch today. So, we drove to the gate, paid for our ticket, drove around the corner, and returned for another day. At the gate, we were issued another 48 hrs ticket…result.
We have seen the others doing the same, so we copied them. To be fair we would have not attempted it if it was during the height of season. But it is the low season now so we felt comfortable with this rule-breaking episode.
It has also been good to stay put for longer since Brian had an episode of stomach ache (possibly the mussels he’s eaten the day before) and needed to recuperate for a while.
Brian was feeling a lot better by Friday morning so we walked into town to have a look at the outdoor market just by the side of the river which is on from Friday’s to Sunday’s, taking the opportunity to stock up on some of the local produce.
On our walk into town we pass the statue of Leonardo da Vinci looking over the town of Amboise just across the Loire River.
Just like us Leonardo looks lovingly over the charming town of Amboise. Note that some of Leonardo’s anatomy are shinier than others? Apparently rubbing his bits are suppose to help with fertility…I kept my distance.
The Château d’Amboise
Overlooking the Loire, a castle has been here since Roman times. From the Chateaux tower, it is clear why the castle’s position would be a great advantage, very good visibility over the valley and the river below provides a fantastic natural defense.
Amboise Chateaux at the top keeping an eye out for English invasions
The Amboise Chateaux was the favorite home of many French kings who all left their mark expanding it and making improvements, but it was King Charles VII who did most of the building work to transform it into a Royal residence.
Unfortunately, the King did not enjoy his handy work for long and apparently, he accidentally killed himself in 1498 by walking into a door lintel and sustaining lethal head injuries…sad ending to his reign. (I wonder is that the real story, those were treacherous times…)
The great inventor and Italian artist Leonardo da Vinci came here in 1516 invited by the French King François I who commissioned his many inventions and artistic talents. King Francis was raised at Amboise, during the first few years of his reign, the Chateaux reached its golden years.
During his time at Amboise Leonardo da Vinci lived at the Château du Clos Lucé (or simply Clos Lucé) a large château where he was able to work on his many inventions and his art.
The Chapel of St. Hubert, within the Chateaux grounds is reputed to be the final resting place of Leonardo.
Chapel of St. Hubert, reputed to be the final resting place of Leonardo da Vinci
The great genius spent the last years of his life in Amboise
I visited both Amboise Château and Clos Lucé and would certainly recommend a visit to both, but if you only have time for one make it Clos Lucé
Clos Lucé
The house where Leonardo da Vinci lived for the last three years of his life, between 1516 and 1519 showcases many of his amazing inventions which are displayed around the house and the gardens. The house is connected to the Amboise Chateaux by an underground passage.
Clos Lucé
Leonardo’s bed
Leonardo brought some of his paintings with him, including the Mona Lisa, now on display at the Louvre in Paris.
I loved having a nose around his house and gardens, was there no end to this man’s talent? He was a genius and many of his ideas have been perhaps at times controversial but no doubt have made huge contribution to shape the world we live now. His many talents included drawing, painting, sculpting, architecture, science, music, mathematics, engineering, literature, anatomy, geology, astronomy, botany, writing, history, and cartography. I am exhausted just thinking about it.
The helicopter
Any similarities with a certain war machine?
We have been having great weather in France making it easier for us to take our time rather than rush South to get sunshine and warmth. It has been nice not having to rush and also seeing some great places that are usually a lot busier during the high season. We have had no problems finding places to overnight.
Before departing the Loire we visited Château de Chenonceau, which straddles de Cher River. I will be writing about our visit there next.
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Your description makes me want to discover the Loire Valley myself and the fact that it is close to Paris makes it even more alluring. I cracked up at you breaking the rules. We would probably done the same, but yeah… it would be next to impossible to do that at the height of tourist season. I was laughing hard at Leonardo’s shiny bits, especially the “ahem!” :-). I remember our visit to Vinci. He was definitely a mad genius!!!
Kemkem, we have thoroughly enjoyed this area. I would recommend visiting during the shoulder season, or off season like us (but the weather can be an issue, we were very lucky to have such good weather in February).I would like to visit Vinci in the future…yes he was indeed a mad genius. A man of many talents 🙂
I recall a visit there several years ago and especially enjoyed Clos Luce and that small chapel where DaVinci is laid to rest. The entire region is so picturesque and the food and wine….well, I’m sure you have already discovered that. Thanks for sharing your travels. You seem to be adapting very well to life in the van.
Suzanne, isn’t it such a picturesque area? We only seen a small part of it. There are so many gorgeous Château and historic places that it is difficult to decide on a favourite, I will be writing about my visit to Château de Chenonceau soon. The food and the wine is certainly another great reason to visit. I am glad you have also enjoyed the Loire Valley. Yes, we adapted well to van life, the sense of freedom is wonderful 🙂
What a beautiful region the Loire Valley is Gilda! We went years ago en route down to La Rochelle and your delightful post makes me want to go back. I hadn’t realised that da Vinci had an association with the area at all so was fascinated to read all about the history. And what amazing weather you seem to be having – hard to believe it’s still February. Sounds like this new way of life is very enjoyable! 🙂
Rosemary, we have been so lucky with the weather and fingers crossed it continues as we cross the border into Spain. Travelling around with your own home and all your comforts has been great. We are loving it so far 🙂 The Loire Valley is gorgeous and no wonder Leonardo da Vinci spent the last three years of his life here 🙂
This is such a wonderful region that I am not surprised you wanted to spend longer and that you re entered to gain more time. Did not know that Leonardo Da Vinci’s home was here and now that I see that, we will have to return for another visit. Yes so many contributions, one of the most brilliant creative minds of all times.
Wonderful photos thanks for the memories.
Peta
Peta, you are very welcome. Leonardo Da Vinci was an incredible man, indeed a brilliant mind. I loved having a nose around the house and gardens where he spent the last years of his life. I will return to the Loire Valley in the near future, there is still so much to explore here. I hope you will also have a return visit soon 🙂
So glad to hear that your new adventure has gotten off to such a great start. You seem to have adapted well to motorhome living and the freedom that it gives you. It has been a wonderful “winter” in many parts of Europe and it is our favorite time of the year in many respects as the roads are relatively uncrowded and life in general is much slower. Looking forward to reading about your travels through Spain next. Keep enjoying the good life! Tim & Anne
Tim and Anne, it feels great to finally be getting on with our motorhome travels. We have been incredibly lucky with such lovely spell of good weather for February. Also being low season we have enjoyed sights that are usually very crowded in the Summer. Having our home with us has been great, so far we are loving it 🙂
It sounds and looks like such a beautiful area. I especially love the low season aspect and practically havign the place to yourself. It seems reasonable to re-enter after 48 hours when they are not full. After all I’m sure in low season they are keen for the money as well. such a reasonable price. I hope Brian is feeling much better.
Sue, being here during the low season has made all the difference, since it is a popular area and it can get a bit too busy in the summer. Brian is feeling very well now and we both have been eating far too much here in Spain’s Basque region 🙂
I love to see Traveller Interrupted free on the road and breaking the rules! Go girl. The way you describe Loire Valley and Amboise transports me there. It will be good to combine a short stay at Amboise and a visit to Paris as well. Thank you King Francois I for housing the incredible genius of Leonardo – what a great mind. Indeed we do not realise the many gifts he offered the world. The photos are great too. Your blog gets better and better. Thank you for sharing this wonderful road trip with us.
Val, rules are there to be broken right? 🙂 They just don’t make men like Leonardo any more hahaha. A brilliant man indeed. King François I was very savvy inviting him to Amboise. Thank you for following my road trip, having your company is lovely 🙂
Interesting story and beautiful photos, Gilda. In addition to his incredible artistic and engineering abilities, I did not know that Leonardo also had time to work out. With the great weather and uncrowded campgrounds, your journey is off to a brilliant start. Enjoy the Basque Country! It has been our favorite part of Spain, so far.
Joe, there was just no end to Leonardo’s talents. What an incredible man 🙂 I really enjoyed exploring his house and finding out about his many interests and crazy inventions. Yes, Basque Country has been amazing and so far our favourite part of Spain also. I hope you and Esther are having fun in the South Joe 🙂
I am in love with France and I’d love to spend a year just exploring the country. You’ve got the perfect mode of transportation to do so.
Patti, we are very excited about being able to explore France by motorhome. We realise now that we have finally got started how much freedom and flexibility having a home on wheels can give. It is not for everybody, but we are glad that it is for us 🙂 I hope you get to explore a lot more of France now that you have your Portuguese residence visa 🙂
Looks like the Loire Valley lives up to all the hype and then some!. And, how awesome to explore it without the crowds plus fine weather too. When reading about Leonardo da Vinci’s many incredible talents, I was thinking that the term “Renaissance Man” could have been coined to describe his amazing genius. Love the statue of him striking a relaxed pose while leaning on a giant head! 😁 Anita
Anita, I totally agree Leonardo is the ultimate “Renaissance Man”. It is astounding that he was mostly self educated. I really liked that statue of him overlooking Amboise…his final resting place 🙂