Uaron (
) – the castle of the Cat in Boots. Charles Perrault, when he wrote his fairy tale, had this very palace and park ensemble in mind (1549). It belonged to the Guffier family, to whom Henry II bestowed the title of Marquis of Carabas. It partly resembles the Fontainebleau Palace and is the southernmost link in the chain of Loire castles.
In addition to the Cat in Boots, the castle was long inhabited first by the mathematician Blaise Pascal and then by Louis XIV’s mistress, Madame de Montespan. Now inside the palace there is a decent collection of modern art. Larochefoucauld (Rochefoucauld), a 10th-century castle privately owned by the Larochefoucauld family (it lets you in for 6€), and traditional medieval delights (church, ancient bridge, fortifications, etc.).
In addition, there are many other impressive examples of medieval fortification (XI-XIII centuries): Ruffec, the former residence of the Utopian Communist Saint-Simon, and Mercerie, unique in that it was built in the 1920s for theatrical purposes as “Louis XIV” and was never finished.
