Château of Ussé

The Château of Ussé, the most romantic and fanciful of all the Loire Châteaux, is said to have given Charles Perrault, the 17th C writer of fairytales, the idea of the castle of the Sleeping Beauty. The Château (which is in private ownership) was built in stages between the 15th and 17th centuries, and shows a mingling of Late Gothic and Renaissance features. The rooms open to the public contain old furniture, tapestries and weapons. In the park is a chapel in pure Renaissance style, built between 1520 and 1583.