Amboise derives its name from the Latin Ambacia meaning "between two waters". The name makes reference to the city's location between the Loire and the Amasse. Its strategic location made Amboise a royal city under French kings Charles VII, Louis XI, Charles VIII, the great builder of Amboise, and Francis I.
Our hotel in Amboise puts all the treasures of the "City of a thousand wonders" within easy walking distance. The city is home to architectural masterpieces such as the Chateau Royal, the Clos Lucé, or the famous Pagode de Chanteloup - 44 m in height and inspired by Chinese architecture.
You can also stroll along the Loire and through the city's pedestrianised areas to discover the troglodyte dwellings characteristic of the Loire Valley, formerly Tuffeau stone quarries.
3 minutes' walk from the hotel, the Chateau d'Amboise is one of the most significant sites in the history of France, and enjoys majestic views over the verdant valley. Through the gates, a long access ramp opens onto a vast terrace which dominates the Loire.
The actual chateau was built between the 14th and 16th centuries under the orders of Charles VIII, Louis VII and Francis I. Visit the cellars, the Chapelle Saint-Hubert with Leonardo da Vinci's tomb, the Tour des Minimes, which could receive horses and carriages, and the magnificent landscaped gardens with their cypresses, holm oaks, bay trees, hornbeams and shrubberies.
Easy to access from our hotel, just 5 minutes' walk from our hotel, the Chateau du Clos Lucé, the last home of Leonardo da Vinci, retains traces of the great Master. Only a corps de logis remains from the original medieval structure erected under Louis XI, a ravishing pink brick edifice set off with Tuffeau stone which you can visit.
Invited to France by Francis I in 1516, Leonardo da Vinci crossed the Alps on mule back with three of his most remarkable works - The Mona Lisa, The Virgin and Child with St Anne and Saint John the Baptist which he would finish here, at the Chateau du Clos Lucé. Named "First Painter, Engineer and Architect of the King", he died in Amboise in 1519.