Amboise and Amboise Chateau

We arrived at Amboise just in time for lunch. A little orientation walk in the town before we had lunch on our own.

We had salad for lunch and it came in fairly big portion.

We explore more of the town and there seems to be some festivity going on with the flags and buntings.

The Amboise Chateau is right in the heart of town but it involves a walk up a steep road to reach the gate.

There is another steep walk up a ramp after the gate and a small chapel appears on the left with the chateau on the right.

The chateau is a union of two architectural styles, the French Gothic on the left wing and the Italian Renaissance on the right wing. A close up of the Gothic roof window and the Renaissance roof window.

There was also some celebration going on as many were dressed in  traditional costumes.

The chapel is the St. Hubert Chapel, named after the patron saint of hunting as you may guess by the facade.

The interior of the chapel is also quite well decorated with some modern stained-glass windows.

The chapel is most famous as herein lies the grave of Leornado da Vinci since he died in Amboise.

The house where he worked is visible some distance away and it is also a tourist site. (Hope this is the right one that I zoomed in.)

A guided tour of the chateau followed. First was the Gothic wing. From the sentry, there is a good view of the Loire River below.

And also that of the tower with its gargoyles.

The inside views of some of the rooms in the Gothic wing.

The rooms in the Renaissance wing are without the Gothic arches and more cozy.

From the Minimes Tower you get another commanding view of the Loire River and the surrounding area.

Finally back on the ground, we walked around the well-groomed garden

with the bust of Leornado da Vinci (who else?) in the middle

and a distinctive Cedar of Lebanon tree near the end of the garden.

On the way back to our coach for the ride to our hotel at Tours, we walked along the River Loire itself, a perfect ending to the visit of the Loire Valley. Note the shallowness of the river.

 Ronald Kwok

Chenonceau exterior and Monmousseau Wine Cave

After visiting the interior of the chateau, it was time for a stroll outside. The larger garden (Diane de Poitiers' garden) has a simple water fountain in the middle.

Around the garden are big decorative flower pots.

We even saw some salamanders sunning themselves. This is one of them.

We did not spend much time in the smaller garden, the Catherine de Medici's garden.

Here are more shots of the chateau seen from different angles.

This chateau is supposedly to be one of the most beautiful in the Loire Valley as it sits across the River Cher but because of the low level of the water at that time (I was told it was very usual), it somehow diminishes the beauty. I was also disappointed that there were not too many flowers in the garden; perhaps it was the wrong time of the year.

There is a vegetable garden and farm outside the chateau and the old buildings give the area a very rustic charm. 

The colourful flowers and fruits here make it a worthwhile detour from the chateau.

After leaving the chateau, we made a stop at one of the many cave wine cellars in the area. The one we visited was Monmousseau. It is located on a steep road off the main road from Chenonceau. We took a guided tour of the cellars that is inside the cave dug into the side of the hill. At the end of the tour is the customary wine tasting session. What we had was sparkling wine or it would be called Champagne if it is located in the Champagne region.

After our "champagne", we went to Amboise for lunch and our next chateau.

Ronald Kwok