The story of this place
The great fortress of Chinon, strung along a ridge above the Vienne river, was a stronghold of the Plantagenets—Henry II of England died here in 1189—and later a refuge of the French crown. Its most famous moment came in March 1429, when the peasant girl Joan of Arc arrived seeking the disinherited dauphin Charles. According to tradition, Charles hid among his courtiers to test her, but Joan picked him unerringly from the crowd and told him she had come, sent by God, to see him crowned king of France. Convinced, he gave her an army; the road to Orléans and Reims began at Chinon. The fortress has been extensively restored.