Amboise: Farmer’s Market & Château du Clos Lucé

We made the most of our free day in Amboise by visited in the farmer’s market and the Château du Clos Lucé.

Amboise Farmer’s Market

It just to happened that our free day in Amboise was they day of their farmer’s market. We left our hotel and walked the maybe 1/4 mile down to the banks of the Loire River.

From the entrance it didn’t look that big, but once we were in it, it seemed never ending. Cheese, flowers, meat, clothes, fruit, vegetables, bread, sweets, and large skillets of paellas were for sale. We bought some strawberries and a baguette for breakfast. Why are the strawberries in France so good?

Château du Clos Lucé

Château du Clos Lucé is most well known for the home of Leonardo Da Vinci. It was given to him by King Francis I, after he named Leonardo “Premier Painter and Engineer and Architect of the King”. It was in Château du Clos Lucé that he eventually passed away.

We took the unguided tour through the house, including his bedroom. Check out that bed!

After seeing some of his famous paintings at the Louvre and his staircase design at Chambord, it was neat to see where he lived and worked.

The coolest part was the models of all his inventions. They were all set up in the lower level rooms with videos and explanations of each. 

Then we walked the gardens where there were several life-size models of his inventions. Without a tour guide, we lazily walked through the entire garden before heading back into town.