What is the HistoPad at Amboise?

A tablet, included in your ticket, that rebuilds the missing château around you. You hold it up in a room and it shows that room as it was, furnished, in augmented reality. At Amboise it is more useful than at most sites, because so much of the building is gone.

CostIncluded in the entrance ticket

CollectAt the ticket desk

LanguagesAround a dozen

Reconstructed roomsSeveral, plus the vanished wings

For childrenTreasure-hunt mode

DepositAn identity document is usually asked for

Why it earns its place here

At a complete château, augmented reality is a gimmick — you can see the room. At Amboise you are standing in a quarter of a building, and the tablet is doing the one job that actually needs doing: showing you the three-quarters that were pulled down. Point it out over the gardens and the vanished wings reappear. That is the moment the site finally makes sense to most people, and it is the reason I stopped rolling my eyes at it.

How it works in practice

You collect it at the desk when you buy your ticket, you are usually asked to leave an identity document, and you walk the normal route with it. Markers in each room trigger the reconstruction; you hold the tablet up, the present dissolves into the past, and you can turn on the spot. There is a children’s mode with objects to find, which works well from about six upwards — see visiting with children.

Should you take one?

What works

It is included, so there is nothing to lose but the deposit
It shows the demolished wings, which nothing else on site does
The children’s mode genuinely occupies children
Available in a dozen or so languages

Worth knowing

It pulls your eyes down to a screen in rooms worth looking at directly
Groups bunch at the markers, so busy days get slow
It is not a substitute for the included guided visit, which is better on the history
You will be asked to leave a document at the desk

My advice: take it, use it in the two or three rooms where the reconstruction is dramatic, and put it down for the chapel and the terrace. And take the château’s own guided visit as well — it is included too, and it is described on this page.

Local tip

Do the included guided visit first, tablet in your bag, then walk the route again with the tablet. Fifteen extra minutes and it is a far better visit than trying to do both at once.

What there is to book

Not the entrance ticket — that is bought at the château’s own desk when you arrive. What is bookable is the guiding, and the day trips that include entry to Amboise along with the other Loire châteaux.

Check dates & book

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Frequently asked questions

Does the HistoPad cost extra?

No. It is included in the entrance ticket, which is bought at the château desk.

Is it available in English?

Yes, along with about a dozen other languages.

Is it good for children?

The treasure-hunt mode works well from around six. See this page.