Château de Ussé
The inspiration for Perrault’s Sleeping Beauty
The Château de Ussé is situated half way between Saumur and Tours just south of the Loire on the River Indre in the Département of Indre-et-Loire. Many think of it as a Fairytale Castle as indeed Charles Perrault did when he penned the fairytale Sleeping Beauty during the late 17th century - its turrets, conical or otherwise pointed towers and tall chimneys suggest this image.
The site was first fortified in the 11th Century with a wooden pallisade which was very quickly replaced by stone. The Château went through several rebuilding programmes but the the final version was the 16/17th Century Flamboyant Gothic Style structure with Renaissance motifs which survives.
Highlights of the interior are the Vaulted Room with 17th century tapestries and staircase leading to a one thousand year old passage way, another staircase, this one designed by Mansart, and a room designed for a King - no less than Louis XIV himself!
The Gardens were designed by the so called ‘King’s Gardener’, the great Le Nôtre, who was responsible for the gardens at Versailles. His use of symetry and of fountains, ponds and regular flower beds ensure these gardens are considered to be amongst the best in the Loire.