Forêt de Amboise and the Pagode de Chanteloup
Rising improbably from the edge of the Forêt d'Amboise, the seven-storey Pagode de Chanteloup is a 44-metre chinoiserie folly built in 1775 — all that remains of what was once the grandest château in the Loire Valley. The climb rewards you with a panorama stretching across the forest canopy to the Loire and, on clear days, to Tours itself.
The pagoda and its strange history
The Duc de Choiseul, Louis XV's disgraced foreign minister, built the pagoda as a monument to the friends who remained loyal to him during his exile from Versailles. It is an oddly moving story — a grand gesture of gratitude rendered in pale stone and Chinese-inspired tiers in the middle of a French forest.
Inside, a spiral staircase winds up through all seven diminishing floors. Each level has a small balcony, and the views improve dramatically with every flight. The top platform, barely three metres across, is exhilarating on a windy day.
The forest walks around Chanteloup
The Forêt d'Amboise surrounding the pagoda is criss-crossed with marked hiking and mountain-biking trails ranging from 3 km to 15 km. The shorter loops pass through stands of mature oak and chestnut, and the forest floor is carpeted with bluebells in April and early May.
The pagoda's grounds also include a reconstructed 18th-century garden with a large ornamental lake where rowing boats can be hired in summer. Pack a picnic — the grassy banks of the lake are one of the most pleasant lunch spots in the entire Loire Valley.
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