The town of Amboise has benefited for years of its geographic position, with an island splitting the Loire in two seperate parts (Ile d'Or) and a hill looking down on the valley. The "Ile d'Or" was chosen by Clovis (king of the Francs" and Alaric (chief of the Wisigoths) in 503 to sign a peace treaty.
In 1429, Joan of Arc spent some time in Amboise before defeating the English in Orléans, with the help of Louis d'Amboise. He then proceeded to lose Amboise to the crown of France after being mixed in a conspiracy. The town beacame a royal residence, and Charles VII, Louis XI, Charles VIII and Francis I in turn modified and modernized the castle.
In 1516, Leonardo da Vinci came to live in the Clos Lucé Manor on Francis I's demand. He died there in 1519, and you can still admire today his residence and see the 40 machines he left there. His body is laid in the Saint-Hubert chapel at the castle.
Amboise was then forgotten by the kings of France, particularly after the Amboise conjuration in 1560, during which 1500 people were executed, some even hung to the castle's balcony. It is not until the XVIIIth century that Ambroise met its past splendor again with Choiseul, a former Louis XV's minister. In his domain of Chanteloup, he entertains a court and organizes a lot of parties. You can still visit the Pagod there, built in 1778 with a chinese influence.
In the XIXth century, the castle was confiscated and given back to the Orléans famaily several times. At the end of the century, the town started to blossom, and this rapid growth is still ongoing today.
Hôtel Le Choiseul
36 Quai Charles Guinot
37400 Amboise
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