Which kings lived at Amboise?

How it became royal

It was not always. Amboise belonged to the house of Amboise until 1434, when Charles VII confiscated it from Louis d’Amboise after a conspiracy. The confiscation is the hinge: from that point the rock belongs to the crown, and a fortress becomes a palace.

Charles VIII

Born here in 1470, died here in 1498 — the only French king both born and dead in a Loire château. He rebuilt on a scale the site had never seen, and after his Italian campaign he brought back craftsmen, gardeners and ideas that are usually counted as the beginning of the French Renaissance. See his page.

Louis XII and François I

Louis XII, his cousin and successor, kept the court here at first before shifting it to Blois. François I spent much of his childhood at Amboise and used it heavily in his early reign — the festivals, the court, and eventually the decision to bring Leonardo da Vinci from Italy and house him five hundred metres away at the Clos Lucé, described on this page.

Henri II, and then away

Henri II and Catherine de’ Medici raised their children here, including the boy who became François II and, for a while, Mary Stuart. The Amboise conspiracy of 1560 — a Protestant plot against the Guise, ending in mass executions on these walls and in this town — is the moment the château’s reputation turns. After that the court preferred elsewhere, and Amboise began the long decline that ends in the demolition described on the history page.

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.

Frequently asked questions