Clos Lucé, Amboise, France

Clos Lucé is a mansion in Amboise, France, located 500 metres from the royal Château d'Amboise, to which it is connected by an underground passageway. Built by Hugues d'Amboise in the middle of the fifteenth century, it was acquired in 1490 by Charles VIII of France for his wife, Anne de Bretagne. Later, it was used by Francis I, as well as his sister Marguerite de Navarre, who began writing her book entitled L'Heptaméron while living there.

In 1516, Francis I invited Leonardo da Vinci to Amboise and provided him with the Clos Lucé, then called Château de Cloux, as a place to stay and work. Leonardo, a famous painter and inventor, arrived with three of his paintings, namely the Mona Lisa, Sainte Anne, and Saint Jean Baptiste. Leonardo lived at the Clos Lucé for the last three years of his life, and died there on 2 May 1519.

Today, the Clos Lucé is a museum that reflects the prestigious history of the region and includes forty models of the various machines designed by Leonardo.

References:

Wikipedia

Palaces, manors and town halls in France

User Reviews

Diego Akel (3 years ago)
Very cool for anyone fan of art or engineering. It is not free for students under 25. It can easily be a 2-3 hours visit.

Innokentiy Tantsura (3 years ago)
Very good! Interesting castle and big garden with a lot of entertainment. It's also god friendly. You can even visit the castle with your god if you keep him or her in a bag.

kelso4001 (4 years ago)
This place is amazing. We saw the rooms where Leonardo lived and worked. Then they have interactive displays all over about his work. Then there are these beautiful gardens with more artifacts and another building with more features oriented towards learning and science. Really close to Amboise castle. Awesome stuff.

Anne van Eijndhoven (4 years ago)
Dangerously busy, a queue not only outside the building but throughout the castle, with very little ventilation and too many people too close together in small rooms. Hardly any staff to ensure people keep their distance. In times of COVID, I strongly advise against visiting, in particular on a rainy day.

Paszty Judit (4 years ago)
Very friendly service and a good variety of food. Croissant, cakes, quiche, salad whatever you want. Will come back for sure.

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Photo from Flickr, copyright Mark1792

Historic Site of the week

Rosenborg Castle

Rosenborg Palace was built in the period 1606-34 as Christian IV’s summerhouse just outside the ramparts of Copenhagen. Christian IV was very fond of the palace and often stayed at the castle when he resided in Copenhagen, and it was here that he died in 1648. After his death, the palace passed to his son King Frederik III, who together with his queen, Sophie Amalie, carried out several types of modernisation.

The last king who used the place as a residence was Frederik IV, and around 1720, Rosenborg was abandoned in favor of Frederiksborg Palace.Through the 1700s, considerable art treasures were collected at Rosenborg Castle, among other things items from the estates of deceased royalty and from Christiansborg after the fire there in 1794.

Soon the idea of a museum arose, and that was realised in 1833, which is The Royal Danish Collection’s official year of establishment.

Clos Lucé

Address

Details

More Information

Rating

Interesting Sites Nearby

User Reviews

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Finest Norman castles in Italy

Exploring the History of Northern Poland

Discovering Slovenia's Historic Wonders

Historic Site of the week

Rosenborg Castle