We spent Tuesday in Amboise where we saw the interesting castle there which overlooks the Loire River. We also visited Clos Luce, the home of Leonardo Da Vinci and in between had lunch on the street overlooked by the castle and had a short bike ride along the Loire and to the “golden island which faces the Chateau.

The Royal Chateau d’Amboise was the heart of royal power during the Renaissance, a place to live and stay for all the Valois and Bourbon kings. Francoise 1er (who ordered the construction of Chambord Chateau) was raised in Amboise along with his sister, and the children of Henri II and Catherine de Medici. The historic royal residence partially designed by Da Vinci. The king who did most of the building — Charles VIII — is famous for accidentally killing himself by walking into a door lintel on his way to a tennis match (jeu de paume or real tennis)…but probably also had other health issues which contributed to his death nine hours later. He was succeeded by a distant cousin, Louis XII (who then married his wife, Anne of Brittany), and he also died without male heirs…so Francois 1er succeeded him. The Loire chateaux and history are all intertwined.

On the grounds is a chapel, which was common in that era. Leonardo da Vinci’s burial place is located on the grounds. He met Francois 1er in 1516 in Amboise and the sovereign gave him what is now called Clos Luce and a pension, and he retired in Amboise.

The chateau is built in the Renaissance style with pieces of Gothic architecture also apparent. The view from the tower over the river is impressive. The gardens too are well-maintained, with perfectly clipped round bushes and a lovely view of the castle and the Loire.

After lunch we biked to Chateau Clos-Lucé, where Da Vinci spent his last three years. His inventions are shown inside the Chateau but also featured around the large park which surrounds the grounds…things such as Archimedes Screw, locks (water), gears etc. A true Renaissance man, he was of course a famous painter (Mona Lisa, the Last Supper) but way ahead of his time with his engineering ideas, which of course his ability to draw supplemented his explanations.

After visiting da Vinci’s home, we biked along the Loire and Sidney and I biked to the small “Golden Island” which is a mere 1/2 mile long…but had lovely views of the Chateau and of course we found a small tennis club there and a large statue of da Vinci sitting under a tree facing the Chateau. I walked back to our Airbnb along a tree-lined street.