My review of the guided visit of the Clos Lucé
Verdict: the natural other half of an Amboise day. This is the manor where Leonardo da Vinci spent his last three years and died on 2 May 1519, five hundred metres from the château. A different property, a different ticket, and ninety minutes with a guide. Rated 4.6 on three reviews.
What the Clos Lucé is
A brick and tufa manor at the top of my street, given to Leonardo by François I when he brought him from Italy in 1516. He lived and worked here, was visited by the king, and died here. The house is furnished, the basements hold full-size machines built from his drawings, and the park runs models and installations through the grounds. The background is on Leonardo in Amboise.
It is emphatically not part of the château visit. Separate owner, separate ticket, separate entrance — the practical comparison of the two is on the Clos Lucé page.
Included
- An English-speaking guide for about ninety minutes
- The house, the workshop rooms and the machine collection
- Commentary on Leonardo's last three years
- The park and gardens as part of the property
Not included
- The Château Royal d'Amboise, which is separate
- Transport — it is an eight-minute walk from the château
- Lunch
- Entrance to the château's own site
What recurs in the reviews
Three reviews, so again: impressions, not statistics. What comes through is that the guiding adds most in the machine rooms, where the objects need explaining, and least in the gardens, where people would rather wander. The 4.6 rather than 5.0 looks to me like the ordinary noise of a very small sample rather than a signal.
The wider pattern, from people who do both properties in a day, is that the Clos Lucé takes longer than they expected and the château takes less. Plan on that shape: château in the morning, lunch in town, Clos Lucé all afternoon. The timing is on the best time page.
What works
- It is the actual house where Leonardo died, not a museum about him
- The machines are the best thing in Amboise for children
- Eight minutes on foot from the château, along the rue Victor-Hugo
- The gardens are worth an hour on their own
Worth knowing
- A separate ticket from the château — two purchases, two visits
- Only three reviews of this guided format so far
- Busy in the middle of the day in summer
- Takes longer than most people plan for
Who it is for, and who it is not for
For: anyone whose reason for coming to Amboise at all is Leonardo, which is most people, and anyone with children from about seven. Against: anyone on a tight half-day, who should do the château and the terrace and come back another time — the case is made on is it worth visiting.
Frequently asked questions
Is the Clos Lucé included in the château ticket?
No. It is a separate property with its own ticket, eight minutes' walk away.
Can you do both in one day?
Yes, and it is the standard plan: château in the morning, Clos Lucé in the afternoon.
Did Leonardo really die there?
Yes, on 2 May 1519. Where he is buried is a different question — see this page.