Chinon

French town in the département of Indre-et-Loire, on the River Vienne; population (1990) 9,000. It is the centre of a wine-producing area, and there is a nuclear power plant nearby at Avoine. On a hill above the town are the ruins of a large stronghold, which is three castles combined as one. Clovis I took the town from the Visigoths. In the Middle Ages it belonged to the Plantagenets, but was lost by Philip II of France to Henry II of England, who died here.

One of the castles was built by Henry II. In another Joan of Arc informed Charles VII of her mission to expel the English from France. The ruins are now a tourist attraction. The writer Rabelais was born here.