A heritage of genius and character
Amboise, a city with an authentic character
Amboise is also home to a rich history dating back almost three millennia, offering up some exceptional heritage.
Its historic heart is packed full of treasures spanning the centuries. Antique remains, Roman art, Gothic art, half-timbered houses and fortifications: each monument in Amboise is enhanced by the whiteness of its tuffeau stone. At nightfall, as the last rays of sunlight begin to disappear, the whole city seems to burst into light!
Leonardo da Vinci
Val d'Amboise's
little gems
Artists & artworks
Witnesses of history
Leonardo da Vinci
Val d'Amboise's
little gems
Artists & artworks
Witnesses of history
A land of inspiration and creativity: in the footsteps of Leonardo da Vinci
Val d’Amboise, a land or inspiration and creativity, honours the spirit of Leonardo da Vinci – still as present as ever. Over the centuries, a host of big names have left their mark on Amboise’s aesthetic or spiritual development. Great artists like Jean-Michel Othoniel or Michel Audiard have allowed Amboise to make a name for itself in all varieties of contemporary art , in response to the oldest testimonies of the Duke of Choiseul or the Emir Abd el-Kader. In Amboise, innovation reaches right into the very heart of our castles. Whether it’s augmented reality or digital immersion, in the royal city, our historic buildings live side-by-side with new technologies in perfect harmony.
On the banks of the Loire, it seems that the genius of Leonardo da Vinci has inspired some of the greatest minds who, each in their own way, have left their mark on the history of the royal city. The Neapolitan monk Pacello da Mercoliano, a contemporary and compatriot of Leonardo da Vinci, transformed the Château Gaillard Royal Estate into his very own laboratory. His speciality: the art of gardening, sowing the 15 hectares of this great estate. His inventiveness allowed him to accommodate several species of orange tree in the Amboise climate, 2,000 km from Naples.
Another great builder, the Duke of Choiseul had a gigantic palace, equal to that of Versailles, constructed on the lands of Chanteloup. For this former Prime Minister to King Louis XV, the goal was to regain the king’s favour. But it would all be in vain, as he died in exile in the lands of Amboise, though not without having left a monument as exotic as it was extravagant to the region’s heritage: the iconic Pagode de Chanteloup, the only remains of the now-disappeared palace.
A century later, another exiled man came to mark the history of Amboise. But, this time, he came from much further afield. Defender of the Algerian cause, the Emir Abd El-Kader was held prisoner in the Amboise Château Royal for four years, in the company of around a hundred of his peers. Finally freed by Emperor Napoleon III in person, this protector of the Christians of the Orient would retain a particular attachment to Amboise, offering the city a magnificent crystal chandelier that still hangs in the Church of Saint-Denis today.
Much closer to us, the Amboise landscape itself would be shaped as the region opened itself up to tourism. In 1967, Michel Debré, Prime Minister and mayor of Amboise, entrusted sculptor Max Ernst with the creation of a monumental fountain which still stands today on the banks of the Loire. 60 years later, around a half-dozen other contemporary works can be found dotted along the Promenade de Loire, from Alexander Calder’s Crinkly to the iconic white Tour d’Or, in tribute to artist Jean-Michel Othoniel in the Val d’Amboise vineyards.
