Amboise · Val de Loire · tour guide verified on July 30, 2026
Le Clos Lucé in Amboise
The final resting place of Leonardo da Vinci - three French years between painting, parties, engineering and projects for Francis I.
400 meters from the royal castle of Amboise, this brick and tuffeau residence today brings together Leonardo's room, his restored workshops, models, a park of life-size machines and immersive galleries.
The short answer
Why is Clos Lucé unique?
Because it does not only tell Leonardo: it preserves the precise place where he lived, received his visitors, worked for Francis I and ended his life.
The visit juxtaposes three levels that must be clearly distinguished: the historic residence, the modern restitutions workshops and machines, then one interpretive park inspired by his drawings. This distinction avoids confusing period objects, reconstructed decorations and inventions made several centuries later.
The bedroom
The place where Leonardo died on May 2, 1519, with a view towards the royal castle.
The workshops
Painting, drawing, sculpture and engineering united in the spirit of a bottega.
The park
Twenty life-size models, bridges and handling machines.
Amboise
The proximity of the court explains Leonardo's place in the France of François I.
Eight centuries in a few dates
From Château du Cloux to Léonard's home
Clos Lucé was not born as a museum. The medieval estate was transformed into a royal residence, then became Leonardo's French laboratory for three years. Its current history is based as much on the conservation of the building as on a long work of restitution.
The Château du Cloux
Louis XI offered the estate to Étienne le Loup, who had the residence built in brick and tuffeau stone.
Royal residence
Charles VIII bought the place and transformed it into a pleasure castle. The oratory is associated with Anne of Brittany.
Arrival of Leonardo
At 64, Leonardo crossed the Alps with Francesco Melzi and Battista de Villanis, accompanied by paintings and manuscripts.
The Cardinal of Aragon
Antonio de Beatis describes the visit and points out three paintings shown by Leonardo in his home.
The last day
Leonardo died in his room on May 2. He was then buried in Amboise.
Le Clos Lucé
Château du Cloux takes the name we know it by today.
Saint Bris family
The family acquires the property and gradually begins its preservation.
Transmission to the public
Restoration, opening, cultural park and galleries transformed the place into Leonardo's interpretation center.
I · The memory stage
The room, the oratory and the look towards Amboise
The room constitutes the emotional center of the visit. According to the historical tradition of the place, Leonardo died there on May 2, 1519. From the windows, the gaze meets the silhouette of the royal castle: geography tells better than any anecdote its proximity to the courtyard.
The oratory of Anne of Brittany recalls that the residence has a history prior to Leonardo. Its painted vault and the Annunciation fresco, attributed by the site to the students of its workshop, make the link between royal residence, private devotion and Italian culture.
II · Thinking with your hands
Painting, sculpture and engineering workshops
The workspaces do not claim to freeze an exact photograph from 1517. They offer a restitution of the material universe of an artist-engineer: pigments, panels, drawings, models, instruments and studies reconstruct the idea of one bottega multidisciplinary.
The official website announces a collection of forty models made with the assistance of IBM from Leonardo's drawings, supplemented by six 3D animations. Their interest is not to prove that each machine was built in the 16th century, but to translate into volumes the mechanisms observed on paper.
How to look at a model?
- locate the drawing or codex that serves as the starting point;
- separate the mechanical principle from modern reconstruction;
- observe how force, rotation, lever and transmission are combined;
- ask yourself what materials would have been available around 1500.
III · An open-air museum
Leonardo da Vinci Park
In the wooded park, twenty life-size models translate Leonardo's drawings into physical experiences. The visitor can enter the tank, examine the aerial screw, follow the movement of a paddle wheel or understand Archimedes' screw.
The route extends by several bridges: self-supporting, turning, on stilts, on two levels and the Golden Horn bridge. Translucent canvases several meters high hang faces, bodies and studies in the trees. The garden thus becomes a traversable notebook page.
1516 -1519 · work for the king
What did Leonardo do during his last years?
Le Clos Lucé is not an inactive retreat. Leonardo receives the title of "First painter, engineer and architect to the King" and an annual pension of one thousand crowns. His health perhaps limits certain gestures, but his intellectual role remains central.
Resume the works
He probably keeps and continues to work Saint Anne and Saint John the Baptist. Studies of drapes on French paper dated 1517 -1518 extend this research.
Romorantin
For Francis I, he imagined a palace and an ideal city, with circulation, water and organization of the territory. The project will not be carried out.
The Loire landscape
His manuscripts bear witness to studies of regional water and hydrography, continuing an ancient obsession with flows.
Staging the court
Léonard designs shows and devices for several festivals, including the "Fête du Paradis" mentioned by Clos Lucé.
A cautious influence
The centered plan and the double revolution staircase recall his research. The influence is plausible and often discussed, but does not make him the documented architect of the castle.
Melzi and the manuscripts
Francesco Melzi accompanies Leonardo, inherits his papers and will play an essential role in the transmission of the future Treatise on painting.
Three masterpieces documented at Clos Lucé
The Mona Lisa, Saint Anne and Saint John the Baptist
On October 10, 1517, Cardinal Louis of Aragon visited Leonardo. His secretary Antonio de Beatis describes three paintings shown by the artist. They allow us to imagine an extraordinary scene: the most famous works of the Louvre today brought together in the rooms of a house in Amboise.
Important: the originals are no longer at Clos Lucé. Current devices allow us to talk about it and see reproductions of it, while authentic paintings are kept in Paris.
The Mona Lisa
A portrait taken at length, taken to France and remained with Leonardo until the end of his life.
CompositionSaint Anne
Three generations united in continuous movement, with a mineral landscape open to infinity.
ChiaroscuroSaint John the Baptist
A figure emerging from the shadows, smile and gesture united in an almost immaterial presence.
Information verified on July 30, 2026
Prepare your visit to Clos Lucé
37400 Amboise
About 400 m walk from the royal castle.
9 a.m. - 7 p.m. from February to June and from September to October; reduced hours in winter.
2026 prices displayed excluding temporary exhibition; under 7 years free.
Set aside more time with temporary exhibition, children or lunch on site.
Recommended route in 2 hours 30 minutes
Start with the house
Bedroom, oratory, kitchen and living spaces first give a human scale to the story.
Understand the work
Connect paintings, drawings, models and projects before going out to the machines.
Finish outside
Choose a few mechanisms, cross the bridges and give the garden time.
Chase Leonard home
Important collections from the store
Leonardo da Vinci
Find the paintings associated with the master and his workshop.
SelectionFamous paintings
A direct entry through its best-known images.
PeriodHigh Renaissance
Leonardo, Raphael, Michelangelo and their contemporaries.
ContextItalian Renaissance
Florence, Milan, Rome and the innovations of the turn of 1500.
Frequently asked questions
Visit and understand Clos Lucé
Why is Clos Lucé associated with Leonardo da Vinci?
Francis I and Louise of Savoy invite Leonardo to France. He settled at Clos Lucé in the fall of 1516 with Francesco Melzi and his servant Battista de Villanis, then lived and worked there until his death on May 2, 1519.
Did Leonardo da Vinci really die at Clos Lucé?
Yes. The sources and the official website place his death in his room at Clos Lucé on May 2, 1519. On the other hand, the scene where he expires in the arms of François I is part of the tradition popularized by Vasari: the king was then in Saint-Germain -en-Laye.
Are there any original works by Leonardo at Clos Lucé?
Clos Lucé is above all a historic residence and an interpretation center. We see restitutions, facsimiles, models and immersive devices. The three paintings documented on site in 1517 - The Mona Lisa, Saint Anne and Saint Jean Baptiste - are today in the Louvre.
What should you see first at Clos Lucé?
Leonardo's room, Anne of Brittany's oratory, the restored workshops, the collection of models, the park with its life-size machines and the Leonardo da Vinci painter and architect Galleries.
How long does it take to visit Clos Lucé?
The official website recommends around 1 hour 30 minutes for the castle, park and galleries, and up to 3 hours if we add the temporary exhibition and a slower discovery of the gardens.
Is Clos Lucé suitable for children?
Yes. The park offers life-size machines that can be observed or operated depending on the devices, bridges, sound terminals and fun tours. The visit is particularly interesting from the age when the child can connect a drawing to its mechanism.
Does the underground between Clos Lucé and Château d'Amboise exist?
An entrance is visible at Clos Lucé, but the idea of a complete passage taken daily by François I is presented by the site itself as a legend. We must distinguish the preserved entrance from the romantic story.
Can we visit Clos Lucé and the royal castle of Amboise on the same day?
Yes. Both sites are approximately 400 meters apart on foot. One day allows you to visit the royal castle in the morning, then Clos Lucé in the afternoon, or the opposite depending on the times and crowds.
What paintings had Leonardo brought to France?
The testimony of Antonio de Beatis and the story of Clos Lucé make it possible to identify the Mona Lisa, the Virgin, the Child Jesus and Saint Anne and Saint John the Baptist. These three paintings belong today to the Louvre collections.
Official sources and photo credits
Château du Clos Lucé - history and must-sees · Leonardo da Vinci at Clos Lucé · Leonardo da Vinci Park · Offers and visit durations · Access and timetables · Prices 2026.
Free photographs hosted on Shopify after verification: Wikimedia Commons - Manoir du Clos Lucé, interiors and invention models. Authors and licenses appear on the source sheets, in particular Fab5669, Ceridwen, Als33120, Château du Clos Lucé /Léonard de Serres and VIGNERON.
Practical information verified on July 30, 2026. Opening hours, prices, exhibitions and access terms may change: consult the official website before traveling.
0 comments