Though he is not as well-known as the Brothers Grimm, Charles Perrault’s “Tales of Times Past,” was probably the first fairytale. And if one believes the story, the castle in “Sleeping Beauty” was inspired by Chateau d’Usse, one of our Loire “drive-by” visits today. True or not, the chateau is still photogenic, especially from from across the River Indre.
As they say in England, we are “changing house” 100 kilometers or so up the Loire from Chinon to another target-rich area, chateaux-wise. We found a wonderful AirBnB in Saint-Gervais-la-Forêt, our home for the next couple of days.
When we visited the region ten years ago, we just walked around the grounds of Chambord, one of the largest chateaux in the region. Armed with new information—thanks PBS—this time we plan on visiting the inside. But first . . . .
It’s impossible to miss the Chateau Royale d’Amboise as you drive by, situated as it is right on the Loire. Amboise became a favorite residence of French kings from Louis XI to Francis I but it was one of the chateau’s visitors in whom we were most interested. At the end of 1515, Leonardo da Vinci, on his first visit outside of Italy, came to Amboise as a guest of King Francis. He was given the nearby manor house, Clos Lucé, and while there he drew plans for an immense castle town that the King hoped to build—Chateau Chambord. Leonardo died at Clos Lucé in 1519 and is buried at the nearby Chapel of Saint-Hubert.