Château du Clos Lucé – Parc Leonardo da Vinci

This residence of pink brick was built by Hugues d'Amboise on Gallo-Roman foundations in the reign of Louis XI (between 1107 and 1115). The property was then given by the king to his favourite, Etienne le Loup, a cook's assistant whom he ennobled. The estate, which was called the Manoir du Cloux at that time, was surrounded by fortifications, all that remains today being the watchtower. At the bottom of the park, Etienne Le Loup also had a dovecote, which is still intact, and which could house 500 pigeons.

Bought by Charles VIII on 2nd July 1490, the castle became a royal estate. It was to remain so for two centuries. While the Royal Court resided at the Château d'Amboise in the Loire Valley, the Manoir du Cloux was used as a secondary residence. Charles VIII had the chapel built here for the Queen, Anne de Bretagne, in mourning for her children who died young.

Later, the young Duke of Angouleme, the future Francis I, organised war games in the gardens of the Clos-Lucé. Marguerite de Navarre, the sister of Francis I, wrote the first erotic stories of "L'Heptaméron" there. It was under Francis I that Le Clos-Lucé became the house symbolising the Renaissance movement in France. Advised by his sister, Francis I had painters, architects, and poets, such as Clément Marot, who were seeking royal protection, brought here. But the greatest of those to cross the threshold of Le Clos Lucé was certainly Leonardo da Vinci.