The West coast of France, including most of the North Sea coast line and the biggest portion of the Atlantic Coast. Home of the famous Normandy and Brittany regions.
Built: 17th centuryStatus: PrivateVisitable?: NoNotable: –Web: – This castle, located in the small village of Saint Martin-Aux-Buneaux, Normandy, is in dire need for some TLC (Tender Loving Care). Built in the 17th century, with the gate built the century before and with several extensions made in the 19th century, this private residence has for the …
Built: 1340Status: MuseumVisitable?: YesNotable: Used in many moviesWeb: Fort La Latte If the Fort-La-Latte castle looks familiar, it is. This fortress has been used in many historical movies (like The Vikings with Kirk Douglas). The Fort was built to protect the Brittany (Bretagne) coastline, including St. Malo and Dinard. The fortress is located on a …
Built: 1890Status: PrivateVisitable?: NoNotable: Visible from the beachWeb: – The Le Havre Villa Maritime has a colourful past. Built in 1890 for a wealthy woman, the Villa was sold and taken over several times. The Villa is located alongside the Le Havre Beach, accessible by the beach road and above. During World War II, the …
Built: 15th centuryStatus: PrivateVisitable?: NoNotable: Part of a farmWeb: – The Auberville castle, located in the small town of Auberville-la-Manuel, is in private hands and forms part of a large farm. The main gate is impressive with its gatehouse and two towers. The castle itself was built in the 15th century. Outside the castle there …
Built: 1784Status: Private (rentable)Visitable?: Yes as customerNotable: unrestricted and impressive view over the Seine river and valleyWeb: – In the village of Villequier, up on the hills overlooking the Seine river valley in Normandy are several castles and manors. One of them, the biggest, is the Chateau de Villequier. The Chateau de Villequier was built …
The castle ruins in Fecamp show that once upon a time, the castle was very impressive.
Built: 15th centuryStatus: PrivateVisitable?: SometimesNotable: At times, in the attic, there’s a children theatreWeb: – The Renaissance-style Manor of Auffay is located in the small village of Oherville (Upper Normandy), on top of the Durdent valley. Built in the 15th century and updated regularly with new additions, the Manor is currently in private hands. There is …
Built: 1886Status: PrivateVisitable?: NoNotable: The castle is modelled on the Arco de Santa Maria castle in Spain, it survived WWII bombingsWeb: – Despite the heavy bombings during WWII, Le Havre still has one of its beautiful castles mostly intact; the Gadelles castle. The “Chateau des Gadelles” is also known as “Porte de Burgos” after the 14th …
Built: 19th centuryStatus: Hotel/RestaurantVisitable?: Yes, as a customerNotable: Overlooks the beach resort town of Etretat, each room is unique. The restaurant is a 1 Star Michelin rated restaurant.Web: Le Donjon The name is ominous for a hotel, since that is what the castle is. The Donjon means “the dungeon”. Located in the most popular tourist …
Etretat Castle – Domaine St. Clair Donjon Castle and Villa Read More »
Chateau de Frefosse in Tilleul, Normandy (right next to Etretat) is one of my favourite castles. It’s almost a palace.
Built: 11th centuryStatus: PrivateVisitable?: NoNotable: Name of the castle used for the “Count of Valmont” in the movie “Dangerous Liaisons”Web: – The Valmont castle is most impressive; a mixture between a fortress and a castle, perched high on a hill overlooking the town of Valmont in Upper Normandy. The families who owned it were numerous (including …
The castle, recently renamed to Chateau de Sissi, is to be found in the small village Sassetot-le-Mauconduit in Normandy. It’s biggest claim to fame is that the Austrian Empress Sissi stayed there (and is rumoured to having given birth to an illegitimate child).
The beautiful Janville castle in Paluel, Normandy is located right next to a WWII R&R camp and airport (and a kilometer away from a nuclear reactor).
Built: 950Status: RuinsVisitable?: YesNotable: –Web: – In the city of Avranches, located very close to the Mont Saint-Michel, are the ruins of a fortress and its associated dungeon. The fortress itself was built around the year 950, while the dungeon was built in the 11th century. Most of the walls are still intact, but parts …
Built: 1599 centuryStatus: PrivateVisitable?: YesNotable: WWII German V1 Launch padsWeb: – The Filieres Castle, to be found close to the Gommerville village (in Upper Normandy), is very interesting to see. Built in 1599 the Henri IV style castle itself is quite big and the gardens are equally interesting (and not just for the plants and …
The castle of Cany-Barville in Normandy is beautiful. It used to be part of the international horse & buggy races championship.
Transport Getting There Ferry: The closest ferry harbours to and from the UK are Cherbourg, Caen/Ouistreham and Le Havre. Air: The international airport for Caen (click here to access the airport’s web site) is very close-by with regular flights to the UK. Within Bayeux There is no useable bus service, but you don’t need one. When entering the …
The Bayeux War Cemetery is also referred to as the British War Cemetery of Bayeux. And that is because the majority of soldiers buried here are British and British Commonwealth soldiers who died while trying to liberate France during WWII. Some 4,640 soldiers are buried here, most of them died during the World War II …
There is a very unique memorial in Bayeux. All over Normandy you will find all sorts of memorials (and cemeteries) for all nationalities that have died during World War II, but this one is different; it’s a memorial for fallen reporters. Journalists that have been killed while doing their job of reporting the truth. But this …
The Notre-Dame cathedral in Bayeux, IMHO, is nice but not worth a side-trip to see it. Obviously, if you are in the area, it’s a nice excursion to go and see it (after having seen the tapestry). It is imposing and enormous, but misses that little “je ne sais quoi“. Coming from the tapestry museum, …
The most famous thing in Bayeux is its tapestry. The museum that has it on display has only one item: the tapestry.
Bayeux, famous for its enormous tapestry, is a city relatively unscathed by WWII. So it’s pretty old looking with many old houses and small streets. It also has several monuments and cemeteries dedicated to WWII.
Transport Getting There Ferry: Closest ferry harbours from the UK are Dieppe and Le Havre. Within Caudebec-en-Caux Caudebec is so small that you can walk from one end to the other in 10 minutes. Restaurants There are a couple of restaurants (normal French food, crepes, pizza), but only one springs out above any of them, …
