Château d'Ussé, Renaissance castle in Rigny-Ussé, France

Château d'Ussé is a pale stone castle built on a hillside above the Indre, with steep dark slate roofs and a tall turret with pinnacles on the left. Its buildings cluster around a square tower whose valley-facing side was destroyed, and a cylindrical 15th-century keep stands at the southwest corner. The chapel mixes Gothic structure with early Renaissance motifs.

The first known lord, Guelduin I of Saumur, built a wooden fortress here in 1004; his son Guelduin II began a stone castle in 1040. In 1424 Jean V de Bueil, admiral of France, built the base structure of the present castle. His son Antoine sold it in 1485 to Jacques d'Espinay, chamberlain of Charles VIII and Louis XII, who continued the work and founded the chapel in 1521.

Charles Perrault, author of the best-known version of "Sleeping Beauty", was a frequent guest at Ussé, invited by Louis I Bernin de Valentinay, comptroller of the royal household. Perrault had the castle in mind when he wrote the tale, and the connection is kept alive today in the castle's presentation to visitors.

A visit is best on a clear day when sunlight highlights the white stone and towers. Comfortable walking shoes are recommended since touring the rooms and grounds involves considerable walking.

The north wing was demolished in the 17th century to open the courtyard onto the parterre terrace, laid out to designs ascribed to André Le Nôtre. Vauban, the military engineer, visited Ussé repeatedly as son-in-law of Louis I Bernin de Valentinay.