Clos Lucé was one of King François I's residences.  When Leonardo daVinci needed a place to stay in his later years, François was happy to oblige.  Leonardo, therefore, spent his last three years living here and completing a few of his final works.

Today, the gardens are a sort-of outdoor museum displaying several dozen full-size or near-full-size models of 'inventions' Leonardo sketched out during his life: his armored tank, a rudimentary helicopter, a cantilever bridge, and others built thanks to a grant by IBM.