Wandering around Chinon in the Centre-Loire Valley, France. A short tour of this picturesque town.

We visited Chinon in the Centre-Loire Valley, France in September 2022. It's a wonderful town that we really enjoyed with a buzz about it and one of our favourite historical streets, wonderful river walks, a great castle and a free lift to take you there with wonderful views, we highly recomend a visit with much to do and see.

Chinon is a town located between Angers and Tours, on the Vienne river and in the Loire Valley. Although best known for its castle the town also has an interesting historical centre to visit while you are here. The river scenery, an interesting historic town centre and an imposing castle combine to make Chinon one of our favourite small towns of the Loire valley region and we recommend that you visit during your stay in the region, or stay here and use Chinon as a base for exploring. Near the end of the bridge on the Chinon side of the Vienne river you can see a statue of Rabelais: Rabelais is a famous French author believed to have been born in Chinon at the end of the 15th century, best knwon for his work 'Gargantua and Pantagruel'. This is also a good place to enter the town: from here the Rue de l'Hotel de Ville takes you straight into the Place du Général de Gaulle, the centre of the more recent part of Chinon. This part of the town, along with the Rue du Commerce and the Rue Rabelais that leave from the sides of the square, is where you will find most of the shops and cafes in Chinon, and is partly pedestrianised.

The main part of Chinon old town is to the west of here, below the walls of the castle which can often be glimpsed above the houses. Leave Place du Général de Gaulle from the top left (north-west) corner and enter Rue Voltaire: this street, and Rue Saint Maurice as it becomes further west, is the loveliest street in Chinon.
Here in the heart of the old town there are numerous medieval houses, some in colombage but most in stone and often with interesting architectural features such as small towers or ornate window surrounds.

You will see several churches as you explore: the 12th century Church of Saint-Maurice is in the heart of the old town centre and the other main churches are further east, on the other side of the Place du Général de Gaulle, the most important religious monument in Chinon is the remaining part of the 12th century Collegiale Saint-Mexme. Although only the facade with its two towers and a part of the church now remain (the other parts having fallen into neglect and being destroyed after the revolution), that is sufficient to get an idea of how imposing the original complex would have been. Inside the church there are some very early frescoes, and various exhibitions are held here during the summer.

You can also visit the ancient troglodyte chapel of Saint-Radegonde in Chinon, half the building being built into the cliff and containing some medieval frescoes, although the chapel has limited opening hours and is outside the centre, so we recommend you ask in the Chinon tourist office before visiting.

Music "South-bathing Blues" composed and performed by my youngest son Harry Hayes

After exploring the old town you will want to visit Chateau de Chinon. You can follow the cobbled street up the hill to the entrance or use the lift, depending on your energy and enthusiasm. The castle is not the most beautiful in the Loire Valley region, but retains most of its medieval fortress character (most castles in the region were transformed in the renaissance style) and has various towers and buildings to explore, as well as some exhibits and recreations of medieval weapons, and has exceptional views across Chinon town and the river.