Accessibility to the château
The château is an old medieval fortress built on a rocky outcrop overlooking the Loire river. It is a listed historic monument, but does not meet all the modern requirements regarding access facilities. This is why the accompanying person must be able-bodied. The château however, has been putting into operation, over the last few years, a facilities and services policy, to make it easier for disabled visitors to move around the site.
New :
For all disabled visitors :
« Gentle stroll » in the gardens
The gardens have undergone some alterations in order to make access easier for visitors with reduced mobility (an accompanying person is nevertheless necessary when the visitor is in a wheelchair) and for families with young children in pushchairs. The itinerary of this Gentle stroll in the gardens is marked on the visit leaflet. Visitors who are either blind or visually impaired and the person accompanying them may also follow the same itinerary with the help of the swell-paper booklet.
On-line purchase: this purchase gives the visitor direct access to the château terraces using the private entrance. An access map is provided when purchasing the ticket. It is equally possible for the accompanying person to purchase the entrance ticket from the Tourist Office in Amboise, at Quai du Général de Gaulle (on the Loire banks)
Hearing disability
Visitors subject to this type of disability may visit using the explanatory leaflet (available in 16 languages).
New from April 2011: Video-guide visit in French sign language. Video guide with textual visit in english. Induction hearing loop provided on request.
Admission fees: Find out more >>
Sight disability
Visitors subject to this type of disability are exceptionally allowed to touch the articles in the collection and the decorations which are not too fragile.Swell-paper description sheets of the monument are made available free of charge to individual visitors, on request at the ticket office.
New from April 2011: Audio-guide visit in French, English, German, Italian, Spanish, Brazilian and Russian. Keyboard with Braille markings.
Admission fees: Find out more>>
Motor disability & reduced mobility
Visitors subject to this disability may access with their vehicle* the terraces of the château from where you have access to the Royal House, to Saint-Hubert’s Chapel (Leonardo da Vinci’s tomb) as well as the gardens. Access to the ground floor of the Royal House is possible from the courtyard and access to the first floor from the garden (situated between ground floor and first floor) where there is a straight staircase of just a few steps which is equipped with a foldaway ramp. Because of the spiral staircase, access to the second floor (XIXth century) is not possible for those in a wheelchair for the time being. The complete layout of the visit now on view! A video available to visitors on the 1st floor makes it possible to visualize all the inaccessible parts of the royal apartments (2nd floor and the Minimes Tower).
New from April 2011: Audio and video-guide visit (2nd floor) in French, English, German, Italian, Spanish, Brazilian and Russian.
Admission fees:
Find out more >>
Special advice :
- The visitor in question must be accompanied by an able-bodied person (whose presence is essential in order to be able to use the sloping ramps and gravel pathways in the gardens).
- Avoid the complicated ticket-office access by using the direct access to the terraces in your personal vehicle:
To do so, purchase your entrance ticket on line
- The access map to the château's private entrance will thus be sent to you automatically by e-mail or purchase your entrance ticket at the ticket counter of theTourist Office in Amboise town centre (the access map to the château's private entrance will be given to you here).
- Call our reception personnel using the interphone at the private entrance (indications will be given where to drop off the visitor and park the vehicle).
- he accompanying person must proceed to the ticket office to pick up the visit leaflet (and/or audio-video guide equipment required by the disabled visitor, if ordered at the time of on-line ticket purchase).
- The supervisory personnel will direct and assist the visitor during the visit of the royal apartments.
- Toilets are still not adapted for visitors with a motor disability.
