Chateau Clisson: A Photo Essay

Take the slow train 20 minutes from busy Nantes, southward to where several rivers intersect, each with a lush hiking trail beside it. Here, you’ll find Clisson – a town of about 6,000 sprawling across the riverbanks and up the hill around a Medieval castle, preserved in ruins and not nearly as well known as many of its Loire Valley neighbors.

If you’ve come to France for castles, here’s an off-the-beaten-track one worth exploring.

Even better, its historic occupants included a French noblewoman named Jeanne de Clisson. Her claim to fame is that when the French king unjustly executed her husband, she traded this very castle in for a pirate fleet and terrorized France for something like 10 years.

In case legendary lady pirates and ancient ruins are your thing, welcome to Clisson.

(Psst, this post may contain affiliate links, which means if you purchase something through one of my links, I get a commission at no extra cost to you.)

All photos taken with my Sony a6000.

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