Page 301 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - France

It boasts beautifully carved
capitals and an immense nave
with four domes, one of the
finest examples of a cupola
nave in France.
The abbey’s nuns lived
around the Renaissance Grand
Moûtier cloisters, forming one
of the largest nunneries in
France. The leper colony was
once housed in the St-Lazare
priory, now a hotel and restau-
rant. Most impressive is the
octagonal kitchen with its fire-
places and chimneys in the
Tour Evraud, a rare example
of secu lar Romanesque archi-
tecture. The abbey is now an
arts centre, and regularly hosts Diners relaxing over a bottle of wine
concerts and exhibitions. in the attractive centre of Chinon

12 ramparts are an impressive Lionheart is said to have died.
sight from the opposite bank
The grandest mansion is the
Chinon of the Vienne river. Palais du Gouverneur, with its
The town’s bijou centre is double staircase and loggia.
! C4 ⌂ Indre-et-Loire £ @
n 1 rue Rabelais; www. like a medieval film set. Rue More charming is the Maison
chinon-valdeloire.com Voltaire, lined with 15th- and Rouge in the Grand Carroi,
16th-century houses and once studded with a red-brick
The Château de Chinon is an enclosed by the castle walls, herringbone pattern.
important shrine in Joan of Arc repre sents a cross-section of The 1900s market, with folk
country and, as such, wheedles Chinonais history. At No 12 dancing, music and stall holders
money from all passing pil- is the Musée Animé du Vin, in period costume, , is a must
grims. It was here in 1429 that where animated figures tell (third Saturday of August).
the saint first recognized the the story of wine making.
disguised dauphin (later Nearby, at 44 rue Haute St- Musée Animé du Vin
Charles VII), and persuaded Maurice, is the Musée d’Art et ' " ⌂ 12 rue Voltaire
him to give her an army to d’Histoire, a stone mansion, § 02 47 93 25 63 # Mid-Mar–
drive the English out of France. where, in 1199, Richard the mid-Oct: 10am–10pm daily
Before that, Chinon was the
Plantagenet kings’ favourite
castle. Although the château FRANÇOIS RABELAIS
is now mostly in ruins, the Rabelais, born in 1494, was
a priest, doctor and huma nist
scholar noted for his wisdom
and tolerance. He is best
remembered for his ribald
satires (written as “medicine”
for his patients), Pantagruel and
Gargantua, set around his native
Chinon. His writing, full of
scatological humour, was
judged obscene by the
Sorbonne, but it was also
rich and inventive, with
many of his words
passing into the
French language.
The château and FRANÇOIS
church towering above RABELAIS
the riverside town of
Montreuil-Bellay
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