Château du Clos Lucé

Château du Clos Lucé hosts seminars, board meetings, conferences, gala dinners and receptions for up to 300 guests, across four equipped rooms and a park. The house stands in Amboise, in the Loire Valley, and is where Leonardo da Vinci lived from 1516 until his death in 1519.

Seminars and company events

The main room, the Salle Léonard de Vinci, covers 323 m² and takes 300 or 250 people depending on the layout, with a stage, a lectern, a sound system, microphones and a video projector. Three smaller rooms serve as breakout or committee rooms for 20 to 90 people, and every room has Wi-Fi, a projector and a paperboard. A general assembly or plenary can also be held outdoors in the park and followed by a cocktail. After the working sessions, the events team proposes the Da Vinci Challenge, a mix of escape game, riddles and treasure hunt through the château and park, a guided visit with a lecturer, or a tasting of aged Loire Valley wines with local produce in a part of the château normally closed to visitors. For the end of the year, the château organises a Christmas tree afternoon for employees and their families, with a snack, Father Christmas and a show.

Weddings and receptions

The château aims its event offer at companies and groups. It hosts gala dinners and dance evenings in an exclusive setting, which can go on late into the night. The site does not present a wedding offer, so couples should ask the team directly.

Rooms and capacities

Salle Léonard de Vinci: 323 m², 300 or 250 people, stage and full sound equipment. Salle Joconde: 95 m², 90 or 20 people. Salle Vitruve: 75 m², 70 or 30 people. Auberge du Prieuré: 60 m², 60 or 20 people. The spaces combine a 15th-century building, a large hall with an Eiffel-style iron structure, and a hall of brick and stone.

Catering

The Auberge du Prieuré, on site, serves groups a Renaissance lunch with staff in period costume. For seminars and gala dinners, the catering formula is set with the events team; the château does not name its caterers online.

History and setting

In 1471 Louis XI gave the estate to Étienne le Loup, who built the Château du Cloux in brick and tufa stone, with a dovecote that still stands. Charles VIII bought it in 1490 and made it a royal residence, adding a Gothic oratory for Anne of Brittany. In 1516 François I and Louise of Savoy invited Leonardo da Vinci to live here. He arrived with three paintings, including the Mona Lisa, was named first painter, engineer and architect to the king, and died in his bedroom on 2 May 1519. The château became the property of the Saint Bris family in 1854, and a century later Hubert Saint Bris restored it with craftsmen of the historic monuments. The grounds form the Parc Leonardo da Vinci.

Getting there

From Paris by car, take the A10 to exit 18 (Château-Renault, Amboise); from Tours or Lyon, the A85 to exit 11 (Bléré, Amboise). By train, Amboise is served from Paris Austerlitz, or by TGV from Paris Montparnasse to Saint-Pierre-des-Corps, next to Tours. A free coach park and a car park are on rue du Clos Lucé, 300 m from the entrance. Coaches over 7.5 tonnes must cross the Loire by the Pont Debré.