Chateau du Clos Lucé and Leonardo da Vinci

Leonardo da Vinci spent the last years of his life at the Chateau du Clos Lucé near Amboise (37 Indre-et-Loire,Centre) in the Touraine,  Loire Valley.

Invited by King Francis I to use the Chateau as a place to dream, think and work, the Chateau builds on its connections with Leonardo and offers a rather different take on Loire Valley Chateaux and 12-14 August 2012 held a special celebration with “In the footsteps of Leonardo“:

The story of a child prodigy
In the still night air, a voice rings out. A torch waves in the darkness. One by one, paintings emerge from the obscurity: Mona Lisa, La Belle Ferronnière, Lady with an Ermine, Saint Anne, the Virgin and Child, Saint John the Baptist, a self-portrait of Leonardo da Vinci… Suddenly, the most famous Italian at the French court bursts out of the frame. “Yes, it was me calling you,” he says to a child playing with a ball, before inviting the children and adults to follow him

through the grounds of the Château du Clos Lucé, in the company of 26 actors and 100 extras.

Chateau du Clos Lucé, 37400 Amboise

Hotels, B&B, Self-catering in Amboise or stay at Hotel Le Choiseul – just 10 minutes walk away on the banks of the river composed of three 18th-century residences. Rooms have a view over the gardens or the Loire River

For more info on this Amboise hotel – see Hotel Le Choiseul