Chateau d'Usse

Usse stands where the forest of Chinon meets the Indre valley, a white pile of pointed roofs, dormers and turrets accumulated between the fifteenth and seventeenth centuries. The tradition is that Charles Perrault stayed here and took it as the model for La Belle au Bois Dormant in 1697, and the chateau leans into it: the tower rooms hold a sequence of costumed wax figures telling the tale, from the spinning wheel to the sleeping princess. Whether Perrault really used Usse is unproven. The formal terraces were designed by Le Notre, and the private chapel in the grounds is a Renaissance building with carved doors.

What you actually see

• The turreted silhouette - white towers and dormers against the forest edge.
• The Sleeping Beauty rooms - wax tableaux in the attic and towers.
• The Le Notre terraces - formal garden steps above the valley.
• The Renaissance chapel - a separate carved chapel in the grounds.

When to go

April to October; the chateau closes for winter from about mid-November to mid-February. It is quieter than the great Loire chateaux even in August.

Honest expectations

It remains privately owned and only part of the building is shown. The Sleeping Beauty tableaux are dated and aimed squarely at children. The Perrault connection is tradition, not documented fact.

Nearby

Chinon lies southwest; Azay-le-Rideau is east.