A hot air balloon glides by the chapel housing Leonardo da Vinci’s tomb in the French city of Amboise.
During the warm-weather months, sightings of colorful balloons (known as Montgolfière in French) are common here in the Loire Valley. And if you live in Amboise’s centre-ville, as we do, they’re even likely to wake you up in the morning! In our top-floor apartment, our mornings often begin with the characteristic whoosh-whoosh sound that’s made when a balloon’s pilot pulls the trigger on the balloon’s blast valve to release propane. When I hear this, I often leap out of bed and run to the windows to see how many balloons have taken to the sky. Sometimes, we have seen as many as ten at a time!
If the weather conditions are just right, the balloons sail over the grounds of the Château Royal d’Amboise, which was once home to King François I, the father of the French Renaissance. In fact, it was François who invited Leonardo da Vinci to live in Amboise. Leonardo spent the last three years of his life in the town, in a manor house called Clos Lucé. Leonardo’s tomb is located in the nearby Saint Hubert Chapel (Chapelle-Saint-Hubert), on the grounds of the Château d’Amboise.
Given Leonardo’s obsession with flight, and the many flying machines he dreamt up, I imagine he would marvel at the parade of hot air balloons that soar above the Loire Valley. Shawn and I certainly do!
Where in the World?
- Amboise is located about 225 km (140 miles) southwest of Paris. You can drive yourself to Amboise, of course. However, thanks to the Loire Valley’s well-developed mass transit (at least to the main sights), it’s possible to get around without a car.
- Amboise has a train station (gare), located on the opposite side of the Loire River from the Château d’Amboise. At the train station there are several ticket machines.
Photography & text © Tricia A. Mitchell. All Rights Reserved.
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