Ambois and Clos Luce

We are planning to visit Ambois and Clos Luce. If we don%26#39;t drive what is the best way to get there ny public tranportation? Is this very complicated?

Or may be it%26#39;s possible to find a tour in English which doesn%26#39;t take the whole day and not that expensive?

Thanks

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You can take a train directly to Amboise and walk once to both sites. Clos Luce is magical, btw.

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Try Acco Dispo Tours. They have different tours (half %26amp; full day selections also) not only of Amboise and Clos Luce originating from either Tours or Amboise.

accodispo-tours.com/english/index-excursions…

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You might also post this on the Amboise forum -- look for WizardofAus -- he lives there, and is a good source of information.

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%26lt;%26lt;Is this very complicated?%26gt;%26gt;

Complicated no, time consuming yes. There are direct trains to Amboise from Gare Austerlitz. Château Amboise and le Clos Lucé are both within walking distance of the train station.

However, Château Amboise itself is not among the best of the châteaux of the Loire Valley. Much of it has been dismantled and the stone sold by a previous owner. The idea of le Clos Lucé as being the final home of da Vinci is compelling but there is none of his possessions on display except for a few wooden replicas of some of his creative ideas on display in the basement.

Perhaps of greater interest are Château de Blois found within the city of Blois on the same rail line as Amboise or Chenonceau which is on a rail line which connects to the city of Tours, which itself has excellent TGV connections to Paris.

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I would suggest a combination of train and car - take the TGV to St Pierre des Corps/Tours (much faster than taking the local train to Amboise) and get a car (or pick up an organized tour - reportedly, there are some small ones that do a good day trip around the area without making you feel like you are part of a huge herd) there. That stop is only about 15 minutes from Amboise.

I agree that the chateau at Amboise isn%26#39;t fascinating, although I did find it interesting. I enjoyed Clos Luce (especially the mock-ups of the inventions - many of which would have worked, except he was so far ahead of his time that no one had yet invented an appropriate power source). But if you have only a day to be in the area, you might enjoy some of the other chateaux more.

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I really enjoyed Chateau Amboise and Closluce.

It is well worth the trip. The market days are Friday and Sunday mornings. Don%26#39;t miss this! It%26#39;s one of the largest markets in the region.

We loved the blacken cheese bread, it is so delicious and light.

There is also wine tasting and selling in the lower caves.

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Discover

I am interested you found Tourteau Fromagé in Amboise. It a charente dish, so strictly it%26#39;s our of region...

Inna

Any reason why Amboise? If you only have one day, then I would recommend maybe one of the more interesting and historic chateau: Blois or Chenonceaux. Both are a lot easier to get to than Amboise and both are a lot more authentic than either of the buildings you mention (which are basically post WW2 reconstructions). To get to Amboise by public transport you have to either tavel to tours (about an hour) and catch a local train for about 15 minutes, or do a 2 1/4 hour slow train from Paris Montparnasse. Once at Amboise St Pierre you have to walk across the river, about 1/2 a mile.

For Chenonceau you travel to Tours, then a local train the drops you at the gates of the chateau, and for Blois the Statuion is just around the corner from the Chateau.

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I found the %26quot;Torteau au fromage%26quot;( which is a goat cheese cheesecake originates from the Poitou-Charentes along the Atlantic coast) at the food market in Amboiswhich had a specialty food vendor.

It is (for those who are not familar) a blackened, spherical loaf. I have found it in several different locations.

We also bought it at a village food (traveling) market while touring the route of the %26quot;parish closes%26quot; in Brittany. That is the first time we enjoyed it.

One can find it in some cheese shops but most are commercially made.

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Here is a photo of what to look for:

www.trekearth.com/gallery/photo932168.htm

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I did not find the walk from Amboise station to be very long and it was quite pleasant. The walk from Blois station to the chateau was fine but there is a hill to climb on the way back.

I agree that the Chateau at Blois is more interesting than the one at Amboise because of the different wings built in different styles. The tour in English there is very interesting. However, I prefer the town of Amboise to Blois and would prefer to stay in Amboise, or to stop for lunch and wander around there.

The Acco Dispo tour group that Paris_1204 suggested picks up from near Tours station as well as in Amboise and they have different routes that take in other chateaux like Chenonceau and Chambord.