A fortress of one kind or another existed at Chinon from the Stone Age until the time of Louis XIV, the age of the most recent of its ruins. It was a favourite residence of Henry Plantagenet, who held title to it long before he inherited the throne of England. He added a new castle to the first medieval fortress on the site, built by his ancestor Foulques Nerra, and died here. His son Richard the Lionheart is also said to have breathed his last in Chinon after being wounded in a battle against the French, though he was probably dead on arrival. Richard's son John, with no English inheritance, stayed in Chinon off and on but after a year's siege in 1204–05, Philippe Auguste finally took the castle and put an end to the Plantagenet rule over Touraine and Anjou.Over two hundred years later, Chinon was one of the few places where Charles VII could safely stay while Henry V of England held Paris and the title to the French throne. Charles's situation changed with the arrival here in 1429 of Joan of Arc from Domrémy in Lorraine, who was able to talk her way into meeting the Dauphin. First though she had to prove her divine guidance, and the court officials set up a test, or rather a trap. As she entered the great hall, the Dauphin remained hidden anonymously among the assembled nobles, but to their amazement Joan picked him out straight away, and instantly went down on her knees before him, begging him to allow her to lead his army against the English. To the horror of the courtiers, Charles said yes. Today, all that remains in the Château (daily: April–Sept 9am–7pm; Oct–March 9.30–11.30am & 2–5.30pm; €4.60) is the scene of this encounter, the Grande Salle, with a wall and first-floor fireplace. More interesting is the Tour Coudray, over to the west, covered with intricate thirteenth-century graffiti carved by imprisoned and doomed Templar knights, and the Tour de l'Horloge, on the east side by the main gate, which houses an eccentric little museum of Joan-related odds and ends. Below, the medieval streets with their half-timbered and sculpted town houses are pleasant enough to wander, or you could duck into one of the town's low-key museums – but avoid the tacky animated wine- and barrel-making museum. The Musée des Amis du Vieux Chinon, 44 rue Haute St-Maurice (April–Sept daily 10.30am–12.30pm & 2–6pm; €2.60) has some diverting oddments of sculpture, pottery and paintings related to the town's history, while the Maison de la Rivière, on the riverbank at 12 Quai Pasteur (July & Aug Tues–Fri 10am–12.30pm & 2–6.30pm, Sat & Sun 3–6.30pm; April–June, Sept & Oct Tues–Fri 10am–12.30pm & 2–5.30pm, Sat & Sun 2–5.30pm; €4), celebrates the once-thriving shipping industry. Though it's far better drunk with a good meal, if you want to try a glass of Chinon you could visit the so-called Caves Peinctes, off rue Voltaire, a deep cellar carved out of the rock where a fancy local winegrowers' guild runs tastings (July to mid-Sept Tues–Sun 10.30am, 3pm, 4.30pm & 6pm; €3). The name of the cave comes from the now-faded murals described by Rabelais in his satirical romp Pantagruel which, like the better-known Gargantua, is set in the countryside around Chinon. Rabelais was born locally at the manor farm of La Devinière, 6km southwest of town, where there's a good but rather dry museum. On the first weekend in August there is a reconstruction of a medieval market, and a flea market comes to town every third Sunday of the month. The two last weekends of July bring a touristy medieval fair to the château's grounds, with costumed reconstructions of battles, olde-fayre snacks and the like.
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