The novel (and movie) Sleeping Beauty was based on a French château in the Loire Valley. The following content is accessible for members only, please sign in.

The majestic Château d’Ussé in the Loire Valley was the inspiration for Charles Perrault’s most famous work, “Sleeping Beauty.” Two other famous women with connections to the Loire Valley are Coco Chanel and Joan of Arc. Coco Chanel—fashion legend and the inventor of the little black dress—was born there in the village of Saumur, and it was in the village of Chinon that the peasant girl Joan of Arc presented herself to the Dauphin, later Charles VII, and asked to head his army.