Owner Pascale Reisinger Houdayer has done a wonderful job of renovating this historic building into 3 apartments, one on each floor, creating a contemporary feel while retaining antique details. She speaks English well and was responsive by email to questions both before and during our stay.

We stayed in the middle apartment up one flight of stairs from ground level. The entry is into a large kitchen/living area. The kitchen is very well equipped, with an induction stove top, oven, microwave, a refrigerator larger than typical under-counter units, a separate small freezer, dishwasher and American style drip coffee maker. There is a small dining table.

Due to the location of the building's stairway, the apartment layout is a bit unusual. Through a door from the main living space is an attractive shower room with dual sinks. The bedroom is beyond the shower room, and a door from it leads to a small toilet room with hand washing sink and washer/dryer combination. Heat and hot water were plentiful (we were there in mid-November). The bed was comfortable and linens and towels were high quality.

We liked the location on pedestrian-only (during shopping hours) rue Nationale, which runs from Chateau Amboise to the basilica. Your car can be parked on the street between 7 p.m. and 10 a.m., and all day on Sundays and Mondays when stores are closed. If you don't wish to have to move the car before 10, free parking is available nearby at the basilica or near the river.

I prefer to stay in smaller towns like Amboise (population a little over13,000), which to me represent the “real” France – although Amboise is more dependent on tourism than some other places we have stayed – and are easily walkable. Amboise has a large open-air market on Sundays by the river, and a smaller market on Fridays. There is a small Carrefour City supermarket a few minutes walk away; a large Leclerc supermarket on the ring road outside of town, and a large Intermarche supermarket across the river. There are three boulangeries on rue Nationale, including one diagonally across the street, and other food shops nearby. The English speaking travel information office had a discount offer on one of the chateaux on our list, and provided helpful information.