After writing "No being disappears into the void" and asking for holy sacrament, Leonardo da Vinci died at Le Clos Lucé on 2nd May 1519 at the age of 67. In a will drawn up by Maître Guillaume Boreau, Notary of the Royal Court, he left all his books, painting instruments and drawings to Francesco Melzi and a fine coat to Mathurine, his serving-woman.

In the 1960s a major restoration was started at Clos Lucé to restore its Renaissance atmosphere. The aim was to leave it, both architecturally and in terms of interior décor, as Leonardo da Vinci would have known it. Thanks to the skilled craftsmen working on wood, stone and glass, the home of Leonardo once again looks as it did centuries ago. Leonardo's kitchen (the old guardroom) then the great Council Chamber, the underground rooms where the 40 machines can be seen and Leonardo da Vinci's bedchamber and, last but not least, the chapel and its frescoes, have, one by one, been restored to the way they used to look.

Amboise is situated on the Loire about twenty kilometers due east of Tours on N152. The Château and the Hall are open daily all year round (except 25 December and 1 January). The landscaped itinerary is open daily from 1 March to 15 November inclusive.