The birthplace of the Renaissance.With its strategic location towering over the River Loire, Amboise Royal Chateau was once a favourite with the kings and queens of France.In 1492, Charles VIII decided to rebuild the original eleventh-century structure extensively, at first in the late Gothic Flamboyant style and later with some of the earliest Renaissance decorative motifs seen in French architecture. Building work continued under Louis XII, Francis I and Henry II.In 1515, Leonardo da Vinci came to Amboise Royal Chateau and lived and worked in the nearby Clos Lucé, which is connected to the castle by an underground passageway. He’s buried in the adjoining Chapel of Saint-Hubert.Although Amboise Royal Chateau later fell into decline, it has recently been restored.