Chinon

Chinon is the oldest major castle in France. Originally, a Gallo-Roman camp on the Vienne river, the main part was built in the twelfth century by Henry II of England, who owned property in France. If you've seen the movie Lion in Winter with Katherine Hepburn and Peter O'Toole, you know something about Henry II, also known as Henry Plantagenet, who was married to Eleanor of Aquataine. Henry II loved Chinon. He and Eleanor had five sons, including Richard I and John, who became King John of England.

In the seventeenth century Cardinal Richelieu bought Chinon and the castle declined in the ensuing centuries. Finally, in the nineteenth century the writer Prosper Merimée bought Chinon and began preservation. There is so much history here. You could spend a week and not see everything.

Michelin