High upon a steep escarpment above the Vienne, a small branch of the great Loire River, emerge the battered but noble ruins of one of the oldest and most historic castles in
             France- Chinon. The city of Chinon is filled with lush green meadows and game filled
             forests, that from the earliest times it was known as " the garden of France." This is the
             region where Francois Rabelais passed his childhood and the region of the lively wines of France. Now, you are invited to see this chateau's enriched history, beauty and amusement.
             The castle was built for the first time by stone by Theobald I. Count of
             Blois, on a steep plateau. Then the castle came into the hands of Henry Plantagenet, Count of Anjou who had become King of England in 1154. He had the castle and its outbuildings made bigger and died there in 1189. The Plantagenet empire then came into the hands of John Lackland, Richard Lionheart's brother. John Lackland's scheming and treachery caused him the hostility of his barons who appealed against him in the Royal court of Paris. After the trial, John Lackland had his French fiefs confiscated. Thus, he was a King of England on French land. In the meantime, King Philip of France began a policy of re conquest of the unarmed towns that were occupied by the English. After a year's siege, King Philip seized the castle on the 24th of June 1205, marking the end of the Plantagenet domination of Touraine. During the 15th century, Chinon came back onto the historical scene. The Dauphin Charles, future Charles VII took refuge in Chinon after having been chased from Paris in 1418. He made it his favorite residence and the center of his power. On the 8th of March 1429, Charles VII, having become king, received a courtier who was no other than the disguised Joan of Arc. The court doubted the sincerity of the young girl and made her app
             ...