Castles in France
34 real castles, fortresses and walled cities in France — each mapped, dated and ready to explore.
Château de Chinon
France's long ridge fortress on the Loire, linked to Joan of Arc and the Plantagenets
Château de Foix
Three-towered castle of the counts of Foix on a rock in the Pyrenees
Château de Saumur
Gleaming white hilltop château above the Loire, painted in a medieval masterpiece
Château des Baux-de-Provence
Ruined clifftop castle carved into the white rock of the Alpilles
Mont-Saint-Michel
An abbey-fortress crowning a tidal island, never taken by the English
Château de Peyrepertuse
A 'citadel of vertigo' riding a knife-edge ridge in the Corbières
Château de Caen
One of the largest medieval fortress enclosures in Europe, built by the Conqueror
Château de Castelnaud
France's Dordogne hilltop fortress, a rival stronghold in the Hundred Years' War
Château de Falaise
Birthplace of William the Conqueror, with a great square Norman keep
Château de Fougères
One of Europe's largest medieval fortresses, ringed by towers and water
Cité de Carcassonne
France's double-walled medieval city, ringed by more than fifty towers
Ramparts of Provins
France's medieval fair town, ringed by tall ramparts and towers
Château de Beynac
Sheer-cliff Dordogne fortress, the French rival of Castelnaud across the river
Château du Haut-Kœnigsbourg
Pink-sandstone mountain castle reborn above the Alsace plain
Château Gaillard
Richard the Lionheart's mighty cliff castle above the Seine
Château de Blois
Royal château of four styles, scene of the dramatic murder of the Duke of Guise
Château d'Angers
Mighty striped fortress of seventeen towers, home of the Apocalypse Tapestry
Palais des Papes
The largest Gothic palace in the world, home of the popes of Avignon
Château de Vincennes
Home of the tallest medieval keep in Europe, a royal fortress beside Paris
Fort la Latte
Dramatic clifftop castle on the wild Atlantic coast of Brittany
Château de Pierrefonds
A medieval castle reborn as a 19th-century romantic dream
Château d'Ussé
A fairy-tale château said to have inspired Sleeping Beauty
Château de Bonaguil
One of the last great medieval fortresses, built for the age of cannon
Château d'Amboise
Clifftop royal château where Leonardo da Vinci is buried
Château de Chenonceau
The elegant 'Castle of the Ladies', arching gracefully across the river Cher
Château d'Azay-le-Rideau
A Renaissance jewel built on an island, mirrored in the river Indre
Château de Chambord
The largest château of the Loire, crowned with a forest of towers and a double-helix stair
Château d'If
Island prison-fortress off Marseille, made famous by The Count of Monte Cristo
Château de Fontainebleau
A royal palace lived in by French monarchs for some seven hundred years
Château de Villandry
Renaissance château famed for its spectacular geometric gardens
Château de Chantilly
Lakeside château holding one of France's greatest art collections
Château de Cheverny
Elegant classical château that inspired Tintin's Marlinspike Hall
Château de Vaux-le-Vicomte
The breathtaking château whose splendour led to its owner's downfall
Palace of Versailles
The dazzling palace of the Sun King, with its Hall of Mirrors and vast gardens