Royal Château of AmboiseChâteau Royal d'Amboise

Royal Château of Amboise crowns a rocky spur above the Loire, where a medieval stronghold became a stage for France’s early Renaissance. Rebuilt under Charles VIII in the 1490s and refined by François I in the 16th c., it reflects a court turning toward Italy in taste, ceremony, and power. Its terraces and chapels still command the river landscape, and the site is inseparable from Leonardo da Vinci, whose remains are traditionally honored in the Chapel of St Hubert.