Amboise is a French commune located in the department of
Indre-et-Loire in the district of Loches in the Center-Val de Loire
region.
Located on the banks of the Loire, the city owes its
fame to the castle of Amboise which dominates it, to the Porte de
l'Horloge, to the collegiate church of Saint-Denis, to the Clos Lucé
castle where Leonardo da Vinci died, at the royal estate of
Château-Gaillard built by Charles VIII in 1496 (including the
gardens laid out by Pacello da Mercogliano) and at the pagoda of
Chanteloup. Its name is also attached to the bloody “conspiracy of
Amboise” of March 1560.
It is one of the eleven wine-growing
municipalities in the area of controlled designation of origin (AOC)
"Touraine-Amboise".
Amboise is located within the perimeter
of the Loire Valley, a UNESCO World Heritage Site
1 Amboise Castle and Gardens, Montée de l'Emir Abd El Kader, ☎
+33 2 47 57 00 98, fax: +33 2 47 57 52 23,
contact@chateau-amboise.com. Monument classified or listed as a
historical monument in France. Remarkable garden in France.
Classified as a Historical Monument since 1840, the Royal Château of
Amboise is one of the emblematic castles of the Loire Valley, a
river classified as a UNESCO World Heritage site. Located one hour
from Paris, in the heart of the Amboise Valley, this royal residence
(late 15th to early 16th century) and its landscaped gardens offer
an exceptional panoramic view of the valley. Numerous European
artists, such as the great Leonardo da Vinci, invited by the
sovereigns, transformed this medieval fortress into a Renaissance
palace with elegant lines. The presumed tomb of Leonardo da Vinci is
located in the Saint-Hubert chapel in the heart of the Royal Château
of Amboise.
The castle does not have a luggage storage facility,
which leaves cyclists with the choice of either leaving their
panniers at the bicycle shop that offers storage (see Getting
Around), or leaving them on their bikes in the street at their own
risk.
2 Château du Clos Lucé (Manoir du Cloux), 2, rue du
Clos Lucé, ☎ +33 2 47 57 00 73, infos@vinci-closluce.com. Low season
€14.50, high season €18, supplements for temporary exhibitions.
January: Sat–Fri: 10 am–6 pm, February to June: Sat–Fri: 9 am–7 pm,
July to August: Sat–Fri: 9 a.m. – 8 p.m., September to October:
Sat.–Fri.: 9 a.m. – 7 p.m., November to December: Sat.–Fri.: 9 a.m.
– 6 p.m. Monument classified or listed as a historical monument in
France. It was in the Château du Clos Lucé, formerly called the
Manor of Cloux, that Leonardo da Vinci, invited by Francis I, lived
for three years, from 1516 until his death on May 2, 1519. It was
built in 1471 on 12th-century foundations. Today it is a place of
interpretation, knowledge, and synthesis whose purpose is to allow
the widest possible audience to discover the world of Leonardo da
Vinci. The building itself is not exceptional compared to the
castles of the region, and those who do not have a major interest in
Da Vinci's inventions might find the price excessive. The garden is
adorned with illustrations of his inventions (bridges, etc.).
3 Chanteloup Pagoda, Avenue des Grilles Dorées. €10. From March
20 to May: Sat.–Fri.: 10 a.m. – 6 p.m., June to August: Sat.–Fri.:
10 a.m. – 7 p.m., September: Sat.–Fri.: 10 a.m. – 6 p.m., October:
Sat.–Fri.: 2 p.m. – 6 p.m., November 1st to 11th: Sat.–Fri.: 2 p.m.
– 5 p.m. Monument classified or listed as a historical monument in
France. From its height of 40 meters, it offers a panoramic view of
Amboise Castle, the forest, and the Loire Valley.
4.
Saint-Florentin Church, Henri d'Orléans Square. Monument classified
or listed as a historical monument in France. Church built on the
orders of Louis XI who, fearing contagion, no longer wanted the
inhabitants to go to the collegiate church at the castle. It was
consecrated in 1484. The apse is located on the city's
fortifications. The bell tower, at the northwest corner, is adorned
with a 16th-century Renaissance dome. The nave ends in a three-sided
apse. The south door is decorated with an archivolt surmounted by a
bracket flanked by two pilasters that once supported statues that
have since disappeared. The interior was transformed in 1876: the
wooden vault was replaced by a stone vault; the single nave was
divided into three. The stained-glass windows in the choir and nave
were created in 1956 by Max Ingrand. The son of Francis I and Queen
Claude, born in 1518, was baptized in this church.
5. Clock
Tower, 14 Rue Nationale. Monument classified or listed as a
historical monument in France. Tower built in the 15th century on an
older city gate. Construction, begun in 1495, was completed around
1500. On the ground floor is a 13th-century pointed barrel vault,
under which the street passes. Above rise two square floors, then a
four-sided roof that ends in a hexagonal bell tower. On the city
side, large mullioned windows illuminate these floors, which are
accessed by a turret staircase.
By train
Amboise has a train station served by TER and Intercités
trains between Tours, Blois, Orléans, and Paris (Paris-Austerlitz
station).
Amboise train station, Rue Jules Ferry. Mon–Fri: 6:15
a.m. – 9:00 p.m., Sat: 7:15 a.m. – 9:00 p.m., Sun: 9:00 a.m. – 9:15 p.m.
By car
Amboise is connected to Tours and Blois by the A10
motorway and the N10 road, which runs along the Loire River.
By
bicycle
Amboise is located between Tours and Blois, on the EuroVelo 3
and 6 routes, 28 km east of Tours.
Rouelib: €2 per bag. – A bicycle rental company that also offers a luggage storage service.
The Châtelliers spur, on which the Château d'Amboise is built,
conceals one of the most important Chassean Neolithic sites in the
Loire Valley, discovered during excavations carried out by A. and S.
Högström between 1954 and 1957. It was discovered in especially a
remarkable female idol.
Protohistory and Antiquity: the
Châtelliers plateau
The Châtelliers site is continuously occupied
during Protohistory and Antiquity. It is documented by more than
forty archaeological operations.
The Châtelliers site is
continuously occupied during Protohistory and Antiquity. It is
documented by more than forty archaeological operations.
The
excavations uncovered occupations from the Bronze Age, including a
ritual deposit from the end of the period, formerly considered to
belong to a foundry's workshop. A first earthen rampart delimits an
area of 8 ha on the spur, this development perhaps dates from this
period or from the Neolithic period.
In the second Iron Age,
the spur was occupied by the 50 hectare Châteliers oppidum, closed
by a Gallic earthen rampart. At the end of the period, the site
could correspond to the capital of the people of the Turones before
its transfer to Caesarodunum (Tours).
During the 1st century
BC. AD and the first two centuries of our era, the site of
Châtelliers corresponds to an important agglomeration. The
excavations have brought to light habitats, roads and artisanal
structures as well as public monuments, in particular a sanctuary
occupied at least from the second half of the 1st century BC. AD The
site seems deserted after the 2nd century AD. Sulpice-Sévère,
however, reports the destruction of a sanctuary by Martin de Tours
(saint), around 374, during his evangelization campaign in Touraine:
“In the village of Amboise (that is to say in the old castle, now
inhabited by a large number of monks) we saw a temple of idols built
at great expense. It was a tower built of freestone, which rose in
the shape of a cone, and the beauty of which maintained idolatry in
the country. The holy man had often recommended to Marcel, priest of
this place, to destroy it. "
“Having returned some time later, he
rebuked him that the temple still existed. The latter pretended that
a troop of soldiers and a large crowd of people would hardly manage
to overthrow such a mass of stones, and that it was an impossible
thing for weak clerics and exhausted monks. So Martin, resorting to
his ordinary weapons, spent the whole night in prayer. In the
morning a storm arose which overturned the temple of the idol to its
foundations. I have this fact from Marcel, who witnessed it. "
The agglomeration undoubtedly then developed on the hillside
opposite the promontory, beyond the Amasse marsh (which gave the
town its name), around the current Saint-Denis church.
The
place is known under the names of Ambatiensis vicus in the 5th
century (Sulpice-Sévère, Dialogii, III, 8, 4), of Ambaciensis vicus
(Grégoire de Tours, Historia Francorum, II, 35 and X, 31) and of
Ambiacensis vicus in 6th century (Grégoire de Tours, De virtutibus
sancti Martini, II, 17 and IV, 42).
Middle Ages
At the
beginning of the sixth century, permanent rivalries, both
territorial and religious, opposed the Salian Franks, Catholics, led
by Clovis, who occupied the north of Gaul, and the Visigoths,
Arians, led by Alaric II, who occupied it. the Great French
South-West. In an attempt to put an end to it, the King of the
Ostrogoths, Theodoric the Great, wrote letters to the two
protagonists to convince them to come to an agreement. This approach
resulted in 504 in a meeting between the two kings which took place
on what was at the time the Île Saint-Jean (now the Île d'Or). The
two rivals promised each other an eternal alliance which remained a
dead letter, since the dispute was only settled by the death of
Alaric II at the battle of Vouillé in 507. In 546 the lord of
Amboise was Saint Baud, bishop of Tours, without knowing exactly the
nature of its dependence on King Clotaire I. Then we no longer have
historical information until the middle of the ninth century.
In 840, during the Viking raids, the wooden bridges that crossed
the Loire were destroyed. The castle was again ravaged by the men of
the north in 853, then in 878. In the last quarter of the ninth
century, a certain Aelindis received a dowry from her uncles Adalard
(Adalardus), archbishop of Tours from 875 to 890 and Rainon (
Regino), bishop of Angers, the stronghold of Amboise, during his
marriage to Ingelger, viscount of Angers. Around 878, at the request
of the two prelates, Louis II the Begu had the castle raised and
fortified and the bridges rebuilt. At that time, the territory of
Amboise was divided into three seigneuries, the most important of
which (La Maison consulaire) was that attributed to Ingelger. The
second seigneury (known as the Tower) belonged to Sulpice I of
Amboise, father of Hugues I of Amboise, future treasurer of the
Abbey of Saint-Martin in Tours. The third seigneury (known as de la
Motte). These three lords frequently opposed each other, which was
hardly favorable to the development of the city of Amboise. Very
busy restoring peace in the region, Ingelger entrusted Amboise to
Robert, son of Haimo, a powerful man who was loyal to him and who
owned part of the fortress by hereditary right.
During the
period from 878 to 1107, the two main seigneuries of Amboise
coexisted:
in the castle, the counts of Anjou descendants of
Ingelger: Foulques Ier, Foulques II, Geoffroy Ier and Foulques
Nerra;
in the village, the descendants of Haimon de Buzancais:
Sulpice Ier says a thousand shields, Robert, Archambaut and his
brother Sulpice II.
On his return from his pilgrimage to the Holy
Land, Foulques Nerra entrusted the guard of the castle to Lisois,
whose intelligence and courage he had appreciated at his side.
Lisois married Hersende de Buzancais, daughter of Archambaut and
niece of Sulpice, thus reuniting the castle and town and creating
the house of Amboise.
Joan of Arc passed through Amboise in
1429, while she was on her way to Orleans.
Renaissance
The
history of the city is essentially intertwined with that of its
castles: the royal castle25 where resides the court of King Charles
VIII then of François Ier, the castle of Clos Lucé, where Leonardo
da Vinci lived and the royal estate de Château-Gaillard, home of
master Pacello da Mercogliano, architect of the gardens of the three
Renaissance kings. Very attached to the old fortress where he had
spent his youth, Charles VIII had decided on the metamorphosis of
the royal castle the day after his marriage to Anne of Brittany.
Louis XII and, above all, François Ier, who arrived at the Château
d'Amboise at the age of four, gave many celebrations there, and
continued to renovate the Renaissance home.
In 1434: Louis
d'Amboise having been compromised in a plot against Georges I of La
Trémoille, favorite of Charles VII, the seigneury of Amboise was
confiscated and reunited with the crown.
It was under the
immediate successors of Charles VII, Louis XI and Charles VIII that
the castle received its main additions.
In 1461, Louis XI, who
liked to see himself behind solid walls, willingly made it his
residence, but thrifty, he did not spend much to beautify the place.
He founded the order of Saint Michael chivalry there on August 1,
1469.
But from 1483 Charles VIII, young and brilliant, whom the
spectacles of Italy had impassioned for the arts, without regret
changed the gold of the chests of his predecessor in walls and
turrets. The castle then became one of the most precious monuments
of ancient France.
Admiring the Villa Poggio Reale of Ferdinand
the Catholic in Naples, Charles VIII wished to have a comparable
residence in Amboise. Thus, on his return from the First Italian War
in 1496, he had the royal residence of Château-Gaillard and the
King's Gardens built, which he entrusted to the hand of the
Neapolitan architect Fra Giocondo and to Pacello da Mercogliano
master gardener.
In 1516, François Ier made the Clos-Lucé
available to Leonardo da Vinci to allow him to work in peace on his
projects. Da Vinci finished painting La Mona Lisa in Amboise. The
name of the city is also mentioned on the information sheet of the
work at the Louvre. He remained there until his death in 1519.
In
1518, the baptism of the dauphin, François de France, eldest son of
François I, was celebrated in the collegiate church of the royal
castle on April 25, 1518. The marriage of II de Médicis and
Madeleine de La Tour d'Auvergne, descendant of Louis IX, was
celebrated in Amboise on May 2, 1518.
In 1539, Charles Quint, who crossed France from south to north,
was lodged in the castle, when a fire broke out in the Heurtault
tower, where he was staying. This was destroyed, but the emperor is
safe.
In 1560 took place the conspiracy of Amboise which heralded
the Wars of Religion.
On March 19, 1563, the Peace of Amboise was
made there, which granted the Calvinists freedom of conscience.
Second World War
During the Battle of France, from the end of
May 1940, Amboise became the crossing point for a continuous stream
of refugees fleeing the enemy advance, soon followed by French
soldiers who retreated. The residents' solidarity is organized
around the Red Cross, making it possible to offer assistance to the
most vulnerable and to serve up to 50,000 meals a day.
After
the fall of Paris on June 10, the military high command tried to
establish a line of resistance on the Loire. On June 16 and 17,
enemy planes bombarded the city and in particular destroyed the
gendarmerie. On June 17 at 4.30 p.m., the engineers blew up the part
of the bridge separating the Île d'Or from the foot of the castle.
The defense of the city is ensured by a unit of hunters, reinforced
by the regiment of colonial infantry of Morocco (RICM), which
withdrew until then in good order, and some other elements.
The first major damage was caused on June 18 by a firing error of
the French 155 battery installed at Chanteloup: a shell intended for
the attackers set fire to the Penthièvre pavilion of the castle
which was completely destroyed. By borrowing the northern part of
the bridge which had remained intact, the Germans settled on the
Isle of Gold and directed intense fire on the defenders who had
taken refuge in the castle. French artillery salvos inflicted
considerable losses on the German convoys, but could not prevent the
crossing by boats of the Loire upstream, near Chargé. Despite fierce
resistance from its defenders, the city fell on June 19 in the late
afternoon.
The damage inflicted by the fighting mainly
affected the castle and surrounding buildings in the city and on the
Île d'Or: the Saint-Hubert chapel was seriously damaged, roofs
gutted, towers and terraces riddled with impacts, several houses
badly damaged . From June 20, the Germans installed a boat bridge,
replaced in July by a wooden footbridge and a ferry. During the
Occupation, a camp of 600 prisoner soldiers was set up at a place
called "Goose's Foot".
Location and Overview
Amboise is a historic town situated in
central France, within the Centre-Val de Loire region and the
Indre-et-Loire department. It lies along the middle stretch of the Loire
River, approximately 27 kilometers east of Tours and 220 kilometers
southwest of Paris. The town's geographic coordinates are 47°24′45″N
0°58′58″E, placing it in the heart of the Loire Valley, a UNESCO World
Heritage Site recognized for its cultural landscape spanning 280
kilometers and covering about 800 square kilometers. This valley is
renowned for its blend of natural beauty and human heritage, including
over 300 châteaux, many perched on hilltops overlooking the river.
Amboise itself serves as a key point in this landscape, with its iconic
Château d'Amboise dominating a rocky promontory above the Loire,
offering panoramic views of the surrounding valley.
The commune of
Amboise covers an area of 40.65 square kilometers and has a population
of around 13,000. It is primarily located on the southern (left) bank of
the Loire, with a railway station on the northern bank connecting it to
nearby cities like Orléans, Blois, and Tours. The town's proximity to
other landmarks, such as the Château de Chenonceau 18 kilometers away on
the Cher River (a tributary of the Loire), underscores its position in a
network of river valleys that define the region's geography.
Topography and Physical Features
The topography of Amboise is
characteristic of the Loire Valley's gentle, fertile terrain, shaped by
the river's meandering course through downfaulted basins in the Massif
Central highlands. Elevations in the commune range from a minimum of 52
meters to a maximum of 127 meters above sea level, with an average
elevation of about 58 meters (190 feet). Some sources note an average
closer to 91 meters (299 feet) when considering broader topographic
visualizations, reflecting variations in the rolling plateau that
extends southward. The landscape features a mix of flat riverbanks and
subtle rises, with the Loire River bisecting the area and creating
fertile floodplains ideal for agriculture.
The Loire River is the
dominant physical feature, with Amboise nestled on its banks in a valley
that transitions from the highlands to the Parisian Basin. This basin
forms a slightly undulating plateau with maximum altitudes around 120
meters, supporting vineyards and orchards that blanket the hillsides.
The river's influence has historically shaped the land through erosion
and sediment deposition, resulting in lush, cultivable soils along the
banks, where crops like cherries, artichokes, and asparagus thrive
alongside extensive vineyards. To the south, the terrain rises into low
plateaus and forested areas, while northward across the river, it
remains relatively flat, facilitating transportation routes.
The
Château d'Amboise exemplifies the topography's dramatic elements: built
on a natural limestone spur overlooking the river, it rises prominently
above the town, providing a vantage point over the valley's sweeping
vistas. Surrounding natural features include the nearby confluence with
tributaries like the Cher, contributing to a network of waterways that
enhance biodiversity and scenic beauty.
Geology
Geologically,
Amboise and the broader Loire Valley are part of the Parisian Basin, a
sedimentary depression filled with layers from various eras. The
region's bedrock includes tuffeau (a soft, porous limestone), chalk,
slate, and schist, which have been quarried extensively for building
materials—evident in the white stone facades of local châteaux. Tuffeau,
in particular, is prevalent in the central Loire around Amboise, formed
from marine sediments during the Cretaceous and Eocene periods. This
limestone contributes to the area's karst-like features, including
underground caves used historically for wine storage and habitation
(troglodyte dwellings).
In the western reaches of the valley, older
formations from the Armorican Massif (the oldest rocks in France) give
way to younger sedimentary deposits eastward. The Loire River has played
a key role in exposing these layers through erosion, creating varied
soil profiles that support the region's viticulture. Human activity
since the Palaeolithic era has further modified the geology, with river
management and quarrying altering the landscape over millennia.
Climate
Amboise experiences a temperate oceanic climate (Cfb
classification), influenced by the Loire River and Atlantic breezes,
which moderate temperatures and create a mesoclimate favorable for
agriculture. The river acts as a climatic boundary between northern and
southern France, adding a few degrees to local temperatures and
mitigating extremes. Average annual temperature is around 12.3°C
(54.1°F), with mild winters (January averages 5°C or 41°F) and warm
summers (July averages 19.2°C or 66.6°F, though highs can reach 24°C or
75°F).
Precipitation is moderate, totaling about 715 mm (28.1 inches)
annually, distributed fairly evenly but with potential for rainy harvest
seasons and spring frosts that can impact vineyards. There is no
consistent dry season, though summers are generally drier; the wettest
month is often May. Sunshine hours average around 1,877 annually,
supporting the valley's verdant growth. Climate change projections
indicate rising temperatures and shifting patterns, potentially
exacerbating frost risks or altering rainfall.
Surrounding Areas
and Environmental Context
The geography of Amboise extends into the
broader Loire Valley, a fertile corridor lined with vineyards (producing
wines like Touraine AOC) and interspersed with forests and wetlands.
Nearby, the valley includes sites like Blois and Chinon, with the river
fostering diverse ecosystems. Environmental challenges include flood
risks from the Loire, managed through levees, and ongoing conservation
efforts to preserve the UNESCO-designated landscape. This integration of
natural and cultural elements makes Amboise's geography not just a
backdrop but a living testament to centuries of human-river interaction.