Château Gaillard - Amboise 🇫🇷

 

Amboise has three châteaux, all very close to each other. Gaillard is not as well known as the Royal Chateau or Clos Lucé, but it became our favorite. The smaller, less grand nature of this place made it feel much more approachable and, I dare say, livable to us.

King Charles VIII, upon his return from his failed conquest of Naples Italy and had this chateau built and brought citrus with him. Citrus has been grown here for centuries in the orangery.

We enjoyed our tour of this chateau and spent the better part of the day exploring the house and gardens. There are extensive natural areas on the property to hike and explore, and one of the highlights was visiting the goats and donkeys on the property. Annette loves donkeys, and her day was made as they came up to investigate us.

We decided to take a break and enjoy the orange cake that is prepared here. It was a lovely, sunny day, and a gentleman came up to us and started a conversation in French. We, of course, let him know we only spoke English, and he conversed in perfect English with us. It was a pleasant conversation with him giving more details of the chateau and the restoration process that started in 2011 and took five years to complete. It was so interesting to hear from him how much work was put into restoring this glorious home and gardens. We found out later that he was the owner of the chateau. It was a very special day, and we are so happy to have learned more about this beautiful (forgotten) chateau here in Amboise.

Until Next Time…