Chinon

The historic town of Chinon—birthplace of author François Rabelais (1494-1553)—is dominated by the towering ruins of its medieval castle, perched high above the River Vienne. But Chinon's leading photo-op is the medieval heart of town, where one of France's most time-burnished streets, the Rue Haute St-Maurice, has block after block of storybook, half-timber houses. Little wonder that Jean Cocteau used Chinon's fairy-tale allure to effectively frame Josette Day when she appeared as Beauty in his 1949 film La Belle et la Bête.