47.41° N · 0.99° E · Loire Valley
The kings' château in Amboise, at the top of a spur above the Loire. It is visited with a tablet that reconstructs the rooms, and Leonardo da Vinci is buried in its chapel. Ten minutes on foot from the station.
Part of Loire Valley
Who offers it
Independent companies: you book with them, on their terms. Prices are as they publish them and may change.
Amboise was a residence of the kings of France in the late 15th and early 16th centuries. Only part of the great complex remains, but it is enough: from the terrace, at the top of the spur, you see the Loire, the bridge and the slate roofs of the town. Leonardo da Vinci spent his last years here, invited by Francis I, and is buried in the Chapel of Saint-Hubert, inside the grounds.
The ticket includes the HistoPad, a tablet in twelve languages that, when pointed at each room, shows it furnished as in the time of the kings. You tour the royal lodgings on three floors, with the guardroom, the great Council chamber, the king's bedchamber and the Minimes tower, from whose roof you can see the river; then the chapel and the gardens, a little over two hectares on top of the rampart, where at the end of the 15th century the kingdom's first Italian garden was laid out. Allow an hour and a half. Dogs may enter the château in arms and in the gardens on a lead, but not the underground passages. Suitcases and large bags are not allowed; there is a paid cloakroom.
Open almost all year, with split hours in low season:
Combined tickets with the Clos Lucé, or with the Clos Lucé and Chenonceau, are sold online only, through Tiqets.
The public approach starts at place Michel Debré, opposite the Bigot pastry shop. Amboise station, with direct trains from Tours, Saint-Pierre-des-Corps, Orléans and Paris-Austerlitz, is about ten minutes on foot. By car, park in the municipal car parks in the centre.
The Clos Lucé, the house where Leonardo lived, is a walk uphill along the rue du Clos Lucé. In 2026 it is open every day, from 9:00 to 18:00 in November and December, and closed on 25 December and 1 January. If you want to see both, buy the combined ticket.
Map
What you have around the starting point.
More to do
Itineraries
Tips
In low season it closes from 12:30 to 14:00: go in first thing or at two.
The view of the Loire in the afternoon light is the best part of the visit.
Do the château in the morning and Leonardo's house in the afternoon.
Questions
€17.30 for an adult with the HistoPad, €11 for ages 7 to 18 and free up to age 7.
In the Chapel of Saint-Hubert, inside the grounds of the royal château.
Yes: in your arms inside the château and on a lead in the gardens. Not in the underground passages.
About ten minutes on foot.
Geocaliahttps://www.geocalia.com/en/france/centre-val-de-loire/loire-valley/things-to-do/royal-chateau-d-amboise
