TOP 10 Most Beautiful Castles in France

France has on its territory many castles, fortresses and manors. Here are the 10 most beautiful.

 1. Le château de Versailles

- Location

• Ile de France region / Department of Yvelines / City of Versailles

- Construction

• 1623

- Size

• 63,154 m2, divided into 2,300 rooms, of which currently 1,000 museum pieces

- Note

• Residence of the kings of France Louis XIV, Louis XV and Louis XVI.

- Current Owner

• French Republic

Le château de Versailles - Credit photo Andreas H. from Pixabay

 

2. Le château de Chambord

-  Location

• Centre-Val de Loire region / Department of Loir-et-Cher / City of Chambord

- Construction

• 1519

- Size

• It is built in the heart of the largest closed forest park in Europe (approximately 50 km2 surrounded by a wall 32 km long)

- Note

• The kings of France François Ier supervises its construction.

- Current Owner

•  French Republic

Le château de Chambord - Credit photo skeeze from Pixabay

 

3. Le château de Fontainebleau

- Location

• Ile de France region / Department of Seine-et-Marne / City of Fontainebleau

- Construction

• From the 12th to the 19th century

- Note

• Several kings have left their mark on the construction and history of the castle, which is thus a witness to the different phases of French history since the Middle Ages

- Current owner

•  French State

Le château de Fontainebleau - Credit photo Aurele Martens from Pixabay

 

4. Le Château de Vaux-le-Vicomte

- Location

•  Ile de France region / Department of Seine-et-Marne / City of Maincy

- Construction

• 1656 to 1661

• Architect Louis Le Vau

- Note

• Built for Louis XIV's superintendent of finances, Nicolas Fouquet.

- Current Owner

• Private company SCI Valterre

Le Château de Vaux-le-Vicomte - Credit photo Wikipedia

 

5. Le Château de Chantilly

- Location

• Hauts-de-France region / Department of Oise / City of Chantilly

- Construction

• 1358 and 1882

• Architects Jean Bullant, Honoré Daumet

- Note

• The history of this castle is rich and interesting.

- Current owner

• Institute of France

Le Château de Chantilly - Credit photo SofieLayla Thal from Pixabay

 

6. Le Château de Pierrefonds

- Location

• Hauts-de-France region / Department of Oise / City of Pierrefonds

- Construction

• 1396 (For the medieval part of Louis I of Orleans)

• 1885 (For the end of the work of Viollet-le-duc)

- Note

• In May 1617 the council of King Louis XIII decided to demolish the castle

• Napoléon III, asked the architect Eugène Viollet-le-Duc to undertake the restoration of the building in 1857

- Current owner

• Center of National Monuments

Le Château de Pierrefonds - Credit photo Rémi Certhoux from Pixabay

 

7. Le Château d'Ussé

- Location

• Centre-Val de Loire region / Department of Indre-et-Loire / Commune of Rigny-Ussé

- Construction

• 15th century

• 16th and 17th centuries

- Note

• This castle has a long history. The first known lord of Ussé was in 1004 the Viking chief Guelduin I of Saumur (known as the devil of Saumur), lord of Saumur, Ussé and Pontlevoy, wearing the colors of the counts of Blois Thibaut II then Eudes II. He built the first wooden fortress.

- Current owner

• Private owner

Le Le Château d'Ussé - Credit photo Wolfgang Zenz from Pixabay

 

8. Le Château du Haut-Koenigsbourg

- Location

• Alsace region (Grand Est) / Department of Bas-Rhin / Commune of Orschwiller

- Construction

• End of the 12th to the end of the 17th century

- Note

• In 1633, during the Thirty Years' War, which saw, among others, the Swedes opposed to Austria, Alsace was devastated. The Swedes take the castle after fifty-two days of siege. Shortly after, the fortress was destroyed by fire. The castle is then abandoned.

- Current owner

• Departmental Council of Bas-Rhin

Le Château du Haut-Koenigsbourg - Credit photo Tristan MIMET from Pixabay

 

9. Le château de Chenonceau

- Location

• Centre-Val de Loire region / Department of Indre-et-Loire / City of Chenonceau

- Construction

• 1513

- Architect

• Philibert Delorme

- Note

• It was built by Katherine Briçonnet in 1513, enriched by Diane de Poitiers and enlarged under Catherine de Medici

- Current owner

• Private owner

Le château de Chenonceau - Credit photo Gilles Lagnel from Pixabay

 

10.  Le château de Cheverny

- Location

• Centre-Val de Loire region / Department of Loir-et-Cher / City of Cheverny

- Construction

• From 1624 to 1634

- Note

• He inspired Hergé for the creation of the Château de Moulinsart (in the cartoon Tintin) which is a replica, cut off from its two extreme pavilions.

- Current owner

• Private owner

Le château de Cheverny - Credit photo Sébastien AUTREUX from Pixabay

 

Hope you enjoyed this little trip. I invite you to like and comment on this article! What is your favorite castle?

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