Do you love history and want to discover the Loire Valley from a different angle? Or are you looking for a fun tour for your children?
Go to the Mini-Châteaux Park of Amboise!
Set in lush greenery, this leisure park lets you stroll through some of the finest Loire Valley castles, reproduced in scale models. A fun, immersive way to discover the diversity of French architecture.
Discover in this article our useful tips in pictures to visit the Parc des Mini Châteaux in Amboise and have a wonderful time.
This guide is completely independent, based on our experiences. We visited the region anonymously, making our own choices and paying our bills in full.
Why visit the Mini-Châteaux Park in Amboise?
Is the Mini-Châteaux Park worth it? Our opinion:
The world of Mini Châteaux is well worth a visit for young and old alike!
For the little ones, it's a fun way to learn about the history of the jewels of the Loire. In our opinion, it's one of the best activities for children in the Loire.
Adults will also find something to their liking, as the particularly well-crafted models and the mediation trail enable them to learn more about the region's varied architectural heritage. For all these reasons, the Mini-Châteaux Park is a must-see when you visit Amboise!
Why is the Mini-Châteaux Park famous?
The site is known for the incredible experience it offers!
You can slip into the shoes of a giant as you stroll through 40 castles reproduced on a miniature scale.
The park is also renowned for the insane precision with which the miniatures have been staged, and garden enthusiasts will be delighted to discover the tiny edens of the estate entirely adorned with abundant vegetation.
Our favorite moments
A visit to the Parc des Mini Châteaux is sure to delight young and old alike! We particularly liked it:
- The faithful, fascinating detail of the models and the care taken with the mini-gardens,
- The richness of the mediation aimed at understanding the history of the castles,
- A variety of recreational areas for children to take a break from learning!
WHERE TO STAY IN Amboise
Downtown
To enjoy the city, its restaurants and castles, we recommend:
- Hotel Le Manoir Saint Thomas - view prices, pictures and availability
- Hotel Le Manoir des Minimes - prices, pictures and availability
- Hotel Au Charme Rabelaisien - prices, pictures and availability
In the countryside around
Charming places nearby. We recommend..:
- Hotel Château du Perreux - prices, pictures and availability
- Hotel Château de Pray - prices, pictures and availability
- Hotel Chateau de Nazelles - prices, pictures and availability
History in brief
Created in 1996, the Parc des Mini Châteaux (Mini Castles Park) offers a totally new way to visit the castles of the Loire Valley, reproduced on a 1:25 scale in a 2-hectare green setting. Sponsored in 1999 by Stéphane Bern, the site attracts crowds for its offbeat tour!
It's worth noting that the park offers many unusual details that appeal to children, such as the loan of costumes and the staging of figurines in the castles.
Since its opening, the site has been constantly reinventing itself to complete and diversify its visit.
- 2012: Arrival of Mini-Bugatti and Mini-Boat attractions
- 2013: Arrival of the Mini-Chevaux attraction
- 2017: Creation of the scent garden, a 400m2 area with fragrant and medicinal plants, to complete the visit in a sensory way.
- 2019: Construction of the model-builder's workshop and giant play area
- 2020: Launch of Histo'Pad, a tablet game for families
Access: Mini-Châteaux Park, Amboise
Where is the site?
- On the outskirts of Amboise
- Boulevard St Denis Hors
- 2min drive from Amboise town center
- 25 min from Tours
- 1h50 from Paris
OUR TIPS FOR RENTING A CAR IN Loire
- Compare prices on our preferred platform: DiscoverCars - one of the best rated sites.
- Choose a fairly compact car (many villages have narrowed the road).
- Think aboutfull insurance (parking in big cities is really tight).
- There is a lot of demand, book it early.
How to get there?
The Parc des Mini Châteaux is within easy reach:
- By bus: From downtown Amboise (Hôpital D431 stop), take bus line C towards Montrichard, and get off at the Mini-Châteaux bus stop.
- By bike: The "Loire à Vélo" itinerary is less than 2 km from the park. Either on the banks of the Loire in downtown Amboise, towards Lussault-sur-Loire or Chaumont, or towards Chenonceaux at the Closerie de Chanteloup intersection with the D83.
- By car: The site has excellent transport links. Just follow the signs for Chenonceaux, once you're in Amboise.
To plan your itinerary, we recommend you visit the official website of the public transport network here.
Parking
Free car parking and bicycle racks are available on site.
DISCOVER Amboise
- Things to do in Amboise
- Where to sleep in Amboise: best hotels
- Where to eat in Amboise: best restaurants
- Visit the Château d'Amboise
- Visit the Château du Clos Lucé
- Mini-cake park
- Best castles around Amboise
Useful tips: duration, schedules, eating...
Best time to visit
As the site is particularly popular with families, we recommend that you come outside school vacations, and come early in the morning or late at weekends. As the gardens are very well maintained, we also recommend that you come in spring to take full advantage of the beauty of the site in full bloom.
Length of visit and main difficulties
Allow 1 hour for a tour of the site, and 1 hour if you're coming with children to let them enjoy the other activities (playground, horse races, carousel). And don't forget the store: it's full of fairy-tale figurines and toys that could seriously tempt your little ones (photo below)!
The park is particularly well laid out and easy to navigate, with the site on one level and accessible to wheelchair users.
Wheelchairs can be booked, and the park has a range of activities adapted to different disabilities (see the official website here).
Advice on how to visit
We recommend that you follow the suggested route (see map below) and let yourself be surprised by the many surprises along the way!
A LITTLE MORE patience
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Visiting with children
The Parc des Mini Châteaux is the ideal place for a family outing! It combines high-quality educational content on the history of castles with a leisure park. Various play areas are scattered along the route, and attractions (included in the price of the visit) add a playful touch to the tour.
Equipment (changing table, stroller locker, microwave) is also at your disposal to make your visit with the little ones easier.
Schedules and rates
The park is open daily from April to October, from 10am to 6pm. We invite you to consult the updated calendar on the official website here.
Prices are as follows: €16 (full price), €12 (3-12 years), free (under 3 years).
Catering
Snacks (cold drinks, sweets, ice creams) are available on site, and a shaded picnic area is available in the parking lot. During high season, a food-truck is on site. Check out the latest information on the official website here.
Mini Castles: an original concept
The Parc des Mini Châteaux is a unique leisure site that will delight history buffs and garden lovers alike, as well as entertaining your children!
Miniature castles
When you arrive on site, you'll be amazed by the magical atmosphere!
In the blink of an eye, you've become giants, curious to wander through a remarkable collection of miniature castles.
After amazement, it's fascination that takes over, with the observation of the titanic and meticulous work required to build the models.
The variety of architectural details (windows, roofs, balustrades and drawbridges) are reproduced with the utmost precision. An exciting way to discover French architecture through the centuries!
These ultra-realistic models also offer the advantage of discovering the Châteaux de la Loire on a single site. A godsend for visitors in a hurry who want to quickly compare the variety of styles.
For our part, we enjoyed rediscovering the emblematic buildings as much as exploring other sites.
We recommend a little game during your visit to see if you know your classics: try to name the different châteaux at first glance, without checking the explanatory panels!
An educational trail
A real mediation effort has been put in place throughout the site to make the visit educational. Each miniature is accompanied by historical and architectural information on the estate it represents, to help visitors understand the particular features of each castle. Visitors can learn more about the region's rich cultural heritage. Note also that the explanations are at children's level.
Halfway along the route, you'll find a room called "L'atelier du maquettiste", showcasing the meticulous work of these skilled craftsmen.
You'll see the different tools used, the models being renovated and other secrets. And, if you're lucky, you might even find one of the model makers at work.
For children, the mediation is adapted, the idea being that they become actors in their visit. As they enter, they are given a welcome booklet with a map, enabling them to find the castles as they play. Interactive kiosks (with QR codes to flash) are also scattered along the route, providing anecdotes about the castles.
It's also possible to dive into a family adventure using a tablet.
The concept: find the "treasure of kings" scattered around the park. Children are invited to take on the role of a detective to solve enigmas through a variety of activities (puzzles, quizzes, 7 differences game, etc.).
Duration: 1h30
Histo'tab price: €4.50
A green setting
First of all, it's worth highlighting the entire Mini-Châteaux Park.
Spread over an area of 2 hectares, it's a haven of greenery in its own right, and a pleasant place to take a stroll.
But the real star of the park are the miniature gardens that accompany each castle model! Note that these are not tiny species, but classic trees such as lime or oak, which take on a miniature appearance when pruned. Trimmed several times a year, some of them require nearly 200 hours of work! We invite you to take the time to contemplate these veritable works of art.
Note also that the miniature gardens reproduce the structure of castle gardens. For our part, we loved comparing French and English gardens and appreciating their differences.
Finally, don't miss the scent garden. Spread over 400m2, it invites you to take a sensory break and enjoy the different fragrant plants and discover the different essences and herbs in the vegetable garden.
Our favorite castles
40 châteaux for the price of one!
That's the challenge of the Parc des Mini Châteaux: to offer you a summary of the jewels of the Loire Valley, in a single glance. While the course as a whole is a great success, here are our 3 favorites.
Chenonceau Castle
You can't do it over again! Our favorite Loire Valley château is also our favorite model. If you read us, you'll know how much we love the play of reflections on water, and that's exactly what we were looking for in this model.
You'll also appreciate seeing how the château is structured above the fake Cher river.
Château de Gizeux
For this model, we loved the staging of an epic battle.
Throughout your visit, you'll find hundreds of little figurines that bring the castles to life. It's also a great opportunity to let your imagination run wild and come up with some wild stories!
Our only regret? Not being able to handle the figurines like when we were kids. You'll have to wait for the boutique if your children want to leave with fairy-tale dolls.
The Château de Villandry
There are almost 2,500 bonsai trees in the park, but the garden that blew us away the most was the one at Château de Villandry. It's just as impressive as the original garden, with mini topiaries that are fascinating to look at.
La Pagode de Chanteloup
Having missed the iconic Amboise site on our visit, we were delighted to discover it in miniature in the Parc des Mini Châteaux. So you can treat yourself to a catch-up session, but also look for inspiration. In fact, the models really make you want to visit these remarkable sites "in real life". So stock up on ideas for future outings!
A recreational trail
While the estate is very didactic about its castles, it is also a leisure park, offering a range of attractions (included in the price of the visit) to add a touch of fun to your visit.
Mini horses
Eugenie, our little budding guide, particularly enjoyed the mini-horse attraction! Children are invited to ride mechanical horses on rails along the castles for a fun little ride.
The carousel
Other sensations are possible with the mini-car carousel. Your children will no doubt be delighted to be able to drive these mini racing cars on a safe circuit.
Other fun attractions
The park also offers a number of other features to keep kids happy. You can choose:
- A bouncy castle
- A giant chess set
- A playground
These different elements provide a breath of fresh air as the children discover the mini-cakes, allowing them to concentrate fully on the rest of the visit.
We also found the "giant building bricks" corner very ingenious, inviting children to build architectural elements themselves, thus moving from the visual to the experiential mode. The tour is a complete experience!
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Frequently asked questions
What activities are available on site?
Every season, the site offers a rich program of events (blacksmithing demonstrations), workshops (illumination, horseshoe painting), unusual tours and themed exhibitions. Follow the news here.
Other activities are offered during the Halloween and Easter vacations. Children can even celebrate their birthdays on site with a special entertainment program. Find out more here.
The site also features a miniature golf course, open from June to September, from 1pm to 7pm.
How can I extend my visit to the Mini-Châteaux Park?
Has your visit to the Parc des Mini Châteaux inspired you to explore these life-size buildings for yourself? Why not take advantage of your stay in Amboise to visit the 3 chateaux in the city. Discover them in our What to do in Amboise article , where we detail the must-sees .
And if you need more inspiration, check out our article on the best châteaux around Amboise!
PLAN YOUR TRIP IN
Loire Valley
The castles of the Loire Valley
Other places to explore
Practice
SHE MADE THE TRIP Claire
