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<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0><script type="text/javascript" src="http://hb.lycos.com/hb.js"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://ratings.lycos.com/ratings/lycosRating.js.php"></script> <script type="text/javascript"><![CDATA[//><!]]></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://scripts.lycos.com/catman/init.js"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://members.tripod.com/adm/ad/code-start.js"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://members.tripod.com/adm/ad/code-middle.js"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://members.tripod.com/adm/ad/code-end.js"></script> <noscript> <img src="http://members.tripod.com/adm/img/common/ot_noscript.gif?rand=452905" alt="" width="1" height="1" />  <iframe frameborder="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no" width="728" height="90" src="http://ad.yieldmanager.com/st?ad_type=iframe&ad_size=728x90&section=209094"></iframe>  </noscript> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" rowspan="2" width=210 BGCOLOR="#9999FF" TEXT="#080000" bgproperties="fixed" background="04076ba3.gif"> <div> <B><U>The highlights of the Itinerary:</U></b></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id46_m.htm#amb" TARGET="TRLX_Middle" TITLE="_"><U><B>Chateau d'Amboise</b></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id46_m.htm#ambpic" TARGET="TRLX_Middle" TITLE="_"><U><B>Amboise Castle Pic</b></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id46_m.htm#ambtown" TARGET="TRLX_Middle" TITLE="_"><U><B>Amboise Town Pic</b></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id46_m.htm#leclo" TARGET="TRLX_Middle" TITLE="_"><U><B>Le Clos Luce</b></U></A></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id46_m.htm#chant" TARGET="TRLX_Middle" TITLE="_"><U><B>Pagode de Chantiloup Pic</b></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id46_m.htm#chen" TARGET="TRLX_Middle" TITLE="_"><U><B>Chenonceau Castle</b></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id46_m.htm#chencast" TARGET="TRLX_Middle" TITLE="_"><U><B>Chenonceau Castle Pics</b></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id46_m.htm#chengard" TARGET="TRLX_Middle" TITLE="_"><U><B>Chenonceau Gardens Pics</b></U></A></div> </td> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=90 BGCOLOR="#99CCFF" TEXT="#080000" bgproperties="fixed" background="04176bc1egdyqn.gif"> <div> <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#FFFFCC" FACE="Arial" ><B>TRAVEL IN FRANCE</b></FONT><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#0000CC" FACE="Times New Roman" ><B>   |   </b></FONT><A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="TRAVEL IN FRANCE"><U><B>home</b></U></A><B>  </b><A HREF="id17.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="My Content"><U><B>contents</b></U></A><B>  </b><A HREF="id43.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="THE CHATEAUX OF BLOIS AREA"><U><B>Blois Area</b></U></A><B> </b><B>  </b><A HREF="id47.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Title 47"><U><B>Tours</b></U></A><B>   </b><A HREF="id44.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="THE CHATEAUX OF TOURS AREA"><U><B>West of Tours</b></U></A><B>  </b><A HREF="id45.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The Pictures from Villandrys Gardens "><U><B>Villandry Pics</b></U></A><B>  </b><B> </b><A HREF="mailto:a_elbert@yahoo.com" TARGET="_top" TITLE="mailto:a_elbert@yahoo.com"><U><B>e-mail us</b></U></A><B>    </b><A HREF="http://www.allcastles.com/index.html" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.allcastles.com/index.html"><U><B>AllCastles</b></U></A><B> </b><B>   </b><A HREF="http://www.castles.org/castles/" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.castles.org/castles/"><U><B>World Castles</b></U></A><B>                               </b><B> </b><A HREF="id29_wether.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Itinerary 1. ARC DE TRRIOMPHE"><U><B><U>WEATHER-ON-LINE IN </U></b></U></A><B><U>LOIRE</U></b><B>  </b><B> </b></div> <div> <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#BF0000" FACE="Times New Roman" ><B><U>E</U></b></FONT><FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#FF6600" FACE="Times New Roman" ><B><U>A</U></b></FONT><B><U>S</U></b><FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#009900" FACE="Times New Roman" ><B><U>T</U></b></FONT><FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#00FFFF" FACE="Times New Roman" ><B><U> </U></b></FONT><FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Times New Roman" ><B><U>O</U></b></FONT><FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#9900FF" FACE="Times New Roman" ><B><U>F</U></b></FONT><FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#BF0000" FACE="Times New Roman" ><B><U> </U></b></FONT><FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#FF6600" FACE="Times New Roman" ><B><U>T</U></b></FONT><B><U>O</U></b><FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#009900" FACE="Times New Roman" ><B><U>U</U></b></FONT><FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#33FFFF" FACE="Times New Roman" ><B><U>R</U></b></FONT><FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Times New Roman" ><B><U>S</U></b></FONT><FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#9966FF" FACE="Times New Roman" ><B><U> </U></b></FONT><FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#CC0033" FACE="Times New Roman" ><B><U>C</U></b></FONT><FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#FF9900" FACE="Times New Roman" ><B><U>A</U></b></FONT><B><U>S</U></b><FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#339900" FACE="Times New Roman" ><B><U>T</U></b></FONT><FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#33FFFF" FACE="Times New Roman" ><B><U>L</U></b></FONT><FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Times New Roman" ><B><U>E</U></b></FONT><FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#9966FF" FACE="Times New Roman" ><B><U>S</U></b></FONT></div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" height=390 colspan=2 BGCOLOR="#99CCFF" TEXT="#080000" bgproperties="fixed" background="04176ba3.gif"> <div> <B><U>EAST OF TOURS CASTLES</U></b></div> <bR> <div> Today we will go to castles that are placed to the east of Tours. In addition, you can visit Le Clos-Luce, the mansion-castle of Leonardo da Vinci, to admire the atmosphere of the time. His inventions were restored by IBM. At the end of the trip we'd recommend you to taste the wonderful wine (especially, the sparkling one) at the caves of Mt Louis cooperative. The whole trip will take a bit more than half a day (4-5 hours). So, you can try to combine this trip with visiting of Tours with its few nice museums and buildings. </div> <div>  <A NAME="ambpic"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></div> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <IMG SRC="147969c0.gif" border=0 width="918" height="668" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <bR> <div> 23 km east of Tours (20 min by train) we'll find the massive and big <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#6633CC" FACE="Arial" ><B>Amboise castle</b></FONT>. <A NAME="amb"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></div> <bR> <div> During the dark centuries from ancient times to the Middle Ages, wooden and stone fortifications flanked the rock spur of Amboise between the Loire on the Northern slope and the Amasse river to the South. Victim of successive attacks by the Dukes of Anjou and the Counts of Blois, it was besieged by Philippe-August in 1234. The chateau was entrusted to a vassal of the king. In 1431, Louis d'Amboise was condemned to death for having plotted against the favorite of Charles VII. The traitor was pardoned and his chateau restored to the Crown.</div> <bR> <div> After that a lot of kings passed through the castle. The most important influence on the architecture of the chateau had been made by Francois I. After his travel to Italy he had brought the wind of Renaissance. The East facade of the perpendicular wing was enhanced by pilasters, stringcourses and so on.  It's interesting to know, that Henry II and Catherine de Medicis were living here too. The bloodshed between Protestants and Catholics was held here 1560. The iron balcony on the second floor bears witness of hanged Protestants. The fire of this tragedy involved France into civil war.</div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div>  <A NAME="ambtown"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></div> <div> <IMG SRC="148aff40.gif" border=0 width="687" height="500" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> Remember that the best way to make the picture of the castle is to stay far enough from it (on the another bank of the river). As you are approaching to the chateau the ancient walls are growing more and more. Inside the castle you will find Middle Ages' rooms with modest furniture. Although there are chateaux with much more interesting interior than this one, it's worth enough to visit the castle to admire the Times which had gone.</div> <bR> <div> The castle open daily:</div> <bR> <div> 02/01-31/01, 01/12-31/12: 9.00-12.00, 14.00-17.00</div> <div> 01/02-31-03, 01/11-30/11: 9.00-12.00, 14.00-17.30</div> <div> 01/04-30/06: 9.00-18.30</div> <div> 01/07-31-08: 9.00-20.00</div> <div> 01/09/31/10: 9.00-18.00</div> <bR> <div> The entrance fee -6.5 Euros (5.5 for students and 3.5 for children under 14 y/o).</div> <div> Tel 02 47 57 00 98. For more info click <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#CC0066" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="http://www.chateau-amboise.tm.fr" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.chateau-amboise.tm.fr"><U>here</U></A></FONT>.</div> <bR> <div> Leaving the castle continue your walk with rue Victor Hugo. 0.5 km south-east of the castle you will see <A NAME="leclo"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#6633CC" FACE="Arial" ><B>Le Clos Luce</b></FONT>, the house of Leonardo da Vinci. The house was presented to the Genius by his friend, the king Francois I. The last had invited Leonardo to spend the end of his life in Amboise. To Amboise he had brought the Mona Lisa. </div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> The conditions of Leonardo's life were excellent. His friend cared about everything.</div> <div> Leonardo organized  in the house numerous festivities for the Court. During the Renaissance the wall-walk became a gallery, sort of Italian type "loggia". The Court used to sit there to enjoy the Leonardo's festivities and to admire the mechanical figure of a lion. Splendidly floodlit by more than 400 candelabra was one of the feasts too (like night was driven away). </div> <bR> <div> Today, you will find the Renaissance-styled rooms are trying to revive the atmosphere of the period. But the attraction for me is the set of 40 inventions by Leonardo which were restored by IBM. </div> <bR> <div> Leaving the house, you can rest a bit in the nice Renaissance gardens or to eat some good croissant in the cafe. </div> <bR> <div> Apart of winter the house open daily from 9.00 to 19.00. In winter - from 10.00 to 17.00. The fee - 40 FF (30 - for students). Tel 02 47 57 62 88. </div> <bR> <div> Now you can continue a bit more than 2 km to climb up the 44m of Chinese-style <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#6633CC" FACE="Arial" ><B>Pagode de Chanteloup</b></FONT>. From the top you will enjoy of the breathtaking views of the Loire valley. It's open daily in the same hours as the castle. The fee - 30 FF.</div> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div>  <A NAME="chant"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></div> <div> <A HREF="http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/Patrice_Palisson/Travel97.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages"><U><IMG SRC="14d25020.gif" border=0 width="293" height="258" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A></div> <bR> <div> Now, continue 10 km south-east to reach the <A NAME="chen"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#6633CC" FACE="Arial" ><B>Chenonceau castle</b></FONT>. This one is, possibly, the most interesting and the most visited in the entire region. Placed on the river, the castle attracts many visitors from all over the world.</div> <div>  <A NAME="chencast"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></div> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <IMG SRC="149969c0.gif" border=0 width="918" height="668" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> The Chateau is a place of the struggle between two women: Diane de Poitiere, the favorite of Henry II, and Catherine de Medicis, his wife. During the life of the King, the castle had belonged to Diane. After his death, Diane was forced to give the castle to Medicis.</div> <bR> <div> Before entering the castle stroll around the wonderful gardens. The green gardens are Diane's and those with flowers and fountain are Medicis'. Most of the visitors like just those of Diane.</div> <bR> <div>  <A NAME="chengard"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></div> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <IMG SRC="14a969c0.gif" border=0 width="918" height="668" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> After you had traveled around and had visited the nice Wax Museum for 10 FF, enter into the castle. The rooms are well-furnished with tapestries and some famous pictures. Not every museum has Tintoretto, Veronese, Murillo, Van Dyck, Rubens and Van Loo. Each room is interesting. Don't miss the rooms of Diane, Catherine de Medicis,  Francois I, Louis XIV and Five Queens (called in name of 2  Medicis' daughters (Margot, the wife of Henry IV, and Elisabeth, the wife of Philip II of Spain) and 3 daughters-in-law (Mary Stuart, Louise de Lorraine (Henry III's wife) and Elisabeth of Austria).</div> <bR> <div> Pay attention to the gallery which was built by Medicis over the bridge. This place was used by the owner as a hospital during WWI and as a transfer for refugees during WWII, because the river Cher was the border between the occupied zone and the free one (Petain's).</div> <bR> <div> The castle open daily from 9.00 until 19.00 (17.00 - in winter). The fee is a stiff one - 45 FF (like in Louvre).</div> <bR> <div> To finish your day go to the caves of  the cooperative of Mt Louis (on the way from Chenonceau to Tours). Cool caves with good value sparkling or dry, demi-sec or sweet Still wines are a real delicacy. These wines of Mt Louis village were drinked from the times of Henry IV (XVI century).</div> <bR> <div> The caves open - 8.00 (9.00 - in Sundays)-12.00, 14.00-18.00. The full address - 2, route de St-Aignian, Mt Louis, tel 02 47 50 80 98, e-mail cave-montlouis@france-vin.com</div> <bR> <div> Now you can finish your trip and to come back to Tours preparing towards the next day.</div> <bR> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <A HREF="http://voyages.sncf.fr/horaires_seuls?url_action=affiche_form_saisie_od_date_heure&langue=GB&ecran=-1&code_pays=FRTCX" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://voyages.sncf.fr/horaires_seuls?ur"><U><B><U>CLICK HERE TO RECEIVE THE TRAINS' TIMETABLES</U></b></U></A></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://www.ligeris.com/index_us.html" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.ligeris.com/index_us.html"><U><B><U>CLICK HERE TO VISIT  TOURS'  TOURIST OFFICE</U></b></U></A></div> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>