Weekend in Amboise

Two days in the Loire Valley town where Renaissance kings held court and Leonardo da Vinci spent his final years. The first day winds through Amboise's historic core — from the Royal Castle perched above the river, where the delicate Chapel of Saint-Hubert shelters Leonardo's presumed tomb, down to the Golden Island's shaded promenades and back through the old town past the Gothic Church of Saint-Florentin and the medieval Clock Tower. The afternoon continues to the Château du Clos Lucé, Leonardo's last residence, with a park of life-size working models of his inventions, and the Royal Domain of Château Gaillard, where France's first Renaissance garden still surrounds an orangery of over 300 citrus trees. The second day explores three distinctive sites outside town: Mini-Châteaux Park with 40-plus Loire castles reproduced at 1:25 scale, the 44-metre Chanteloup Pagoda built in 1775 with panoramic views from its summit, and the Grand Aquarium of Touraine with 300 species across freshwater and marine habitats. Château Gaillard is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays, and the Day 2 sites are seasonal, typically open April through November.