Amboise is a pretty small town steeped in history located in the Indre-et-Loire department in central France. It lies on the banks of the Loire River, 27 kilometres east of the city of Tours. Today a small market town, it was once home to the French royal court.

The town is famous for the Clos Lucé manor house where Leonardo da Vinci lived (and ultimately died) at the invitation of King Francois I of France, whose Château d'Amboise dominates the town. The narrow streets contain some wonderful timbered houses.

Amboise has a very long and interesting history. Amboise had existed since Neolithic times. The Turones, a Celtic Clan gave their name to the Touraine region. The town has been founded since that era. In Roman times it is said that Julius Caesar like the Amboise Oppidum. It is said that Clovis, King of the Francs, and Alaric, King of the Visigoths met here in the region. Amboise suffered troubled times with the Norman invasion. Later, more luxurious times began ,with Louis XI, Charles VIII and Francois Ier, who made Amboise into a wonderfully beautiful, rich, intellectual and artistic town.

The Château at Amboise was home to Mary Stewart, Queen of Scots, for much of her early life, being raised there at the French court of Henry II. She arrived in France from Scotland in 1548, aged six, via the French king's favourite palace at Saint Germain en Laye near Paris, and remained in France until 1561, when she returned to her homeland.