The Loire Valley
We’ve compiled the best of the best in The Loire Valley - browse our top choices for the top things to see or do during your stay.
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1. Caves Ambacia
In this medieval wine cave, carved out of the bedrock in the 15th century, you'll be initiated into the many splendors of Loire wines. Your full sensory experience includes video, a 3D installation, and an olfactory game, and culminates in a tasting with a professional sommelier to ensure you leave with a new understanding of and appreciation for these prized wines (kids get gourmet juices). Connoisseurs can taste or buy vintages dating as far back as 1874. The owner, a wine "editor," curates a selection of wines from the best parcels of the five great Loire appellations. Visitors can also purchase local delicacies in the gourmet shop, from local goat cheeses and charcuterie to gifts to take home. Afterward, grab a bite at l'Oppidum, the chic on-site bistro with a riverfront terrace.
56 rue du Rocher des Violettes, Amboise, Centre-Val de Loire, 37400, France02–47–57–20–77 -
2. Château d'Amboise
The Château d'Amboise became a royal palace in the 15th and 16th centuries. Charles VII stayed here, as did the unfortunate Charles VIII, best remembered for banging his head on a low doorway lintel (you will be shown it) and dying as a result. The gigantic Tour des Minimes drops down the side of the cliff, enclosing a massive circular ramp designed to lead horses and carriages up the steep hillside, and later used as a prison, as affirmed by the fascinating period graffiti. François I, whose long nose appears in so many château paintings, based his court here, inviting Leonardo da Vinci to live in nearby Clos Lucé as his guest. The castle was also the stage for the Amboise Conspiracy, an ill-fated Protestant plot against François II; you're shown where the corpses of the conspirators dangled from the castle walls. Partly due to the fact that most interior furnishings have been lost, most halls here are haunted and forlorn, but armed with the 3D histopad provided for your visit, each room comes colorfully alive as it once was. The maze of underground passages are open to the public for guided visits (April–September). While exploring the grounds, don't miss the little chapel of St-Hubert; built in the 1490s, this Flamboyant Gothic gem is fronted by a glorious tympanum, adorned with carvings, and graced by a tomb that's said to contain the remains of da Vinci. In spring and summer, visitors are welcome to picnic in the lovely Italian-style gardens (or the on-site café) to enjoy stunning vistas of the Loire River and the charming village below. The chateau also hosts a regular program of garden concerts in the summer.
View Tours and ActivitiesAmboise, Centre-Val de Loire, 37530, France02–47–57–00–98Sight Details
Rate Includes: €15 -
3. Clos Lucé
If you want to see where "the 20th century was born"—as the curators here like to proclaim—head to the Clos Lucé, about 600 yards up Rue Victor-Hugo from the château. Leonardo da Vinci (1452–1519) spent the last four years of his life in this handsome Renaissance manor, tinkering away at inventions, amusing his patron, King François I, and gazing out over a garden that was planted in the most fashionable Italian manner. The garden was completely restored in 2008 to contain plants and trees found in his sketches, as well as a dozen full-size renderings of machines he designed. The Halle Interactive contains working models of some of Leonardo's extraordinary inventions, all built by IBM engineers using the artist's detailed notebooks (by this time Leonardo had put away his paint box because of arthritis). Mechanisms on display include three-speed gearboxes, a military tank, a clockwork car, and a flying machine complete with designs for parachutes. Originally called Cloux, the property was given to Anne of Brittany by Charles VIII, who built a chapel for her that is still here. Some of the house's furnishings are authentically 16th century—indeed, thanks to the artist's presence, Clos Lucé was one of the first places where the Italian Renaissance made inroads in France: Leonardo's Mona Lisa and Virgin of the Rocks, both of which once graced the walls here, were bought by the king, who then moved them to the Louvre. You can now see these and 15 other da Vinci masterpieces projected in full living color in the on-site immersive museum; it also features 3D re-creations of the master's unrealized plans for palaces and other constructions, video games, and a host of fun educational games for kids.
View Tours and Activities2 rue du Clos-Lucé, Amboise, Centre-Val de Loire, 37400, France02–47–57–00–73Sight Details
Rate Includes: €18 -
4. Pagode de Chanteloup
Just 3 km (2 miles) south of Amboise on the road to Chenonceaux, the Pagode de Chanteloup is a remarkable sight—a 140-foot, seven-story, Chinese-style lakeside pagoda built for the duke of Choiseul in 1775. Children will enjoy puffing their way to the top for the vertigo-inducing views, but some adults will find the climb—and the 400-yard walk from the parking lot—a little arduous. You can take a 3D virtual tour of the former chateau that once stood on the grounds, in its only remaining pavilion, for an idea of its pre-destruction magnificence (it was demolished in 1823 for unknown reasons), then rent a little rowboat (€6 per hour) to float across the adjoining lake. It's worth a quick stop if you're in the area, especially for architecture buffs, and the views from the top are lovely.
Rte. de Bléré, Amboise, Centre-Val de Loire, 37400, France02–47–57–20–97Sight Details
Rate Includes: €11, Closed mid-Nov.–mid-Mar. -
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