Tour de Ratières

Ratières

Access

No visits on recordNo opening hours or ticketing found

Where: Ratières

To make a day of it

Open within 20 km

château d'Anjou (Anjou Castle)from 1 April to 30 June; from 1 July to 31 August; from 1 September to 31 October; from 1 to 24 December20 km
castel of Tournonfrom €517 km
Château de Charmes-sur-l'Herbasse (Charmes-sur-l'Herbasse Castle)from €155 km

Sleep nearby

Tour de Ratières stands in Ratières (Drôme), in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of France. The building is registered as a historic monument. The building is privately owned and no visits are on record.

In Ratières, in the northern Drôme, a hexagonal medieval tower some fifteen metres high overlooks the village and the surrounding plain. Its origins date back to Carolingian times, while the keep seen today was built in the 14th century and retains interior features unusual for its period, including a fireplace, latrines and watch openings. Excavations carried out in 1993 revealed an earlier occupation, possibly a motte castle. Around the building lies a contemporary garden laid out that same year, combining a rose walk, a medieval garden and an Italian garden.

Written from Tour de Ratières

What to know

The tower has been a listed historic monument since 1926.
The building is privately owned and public access has at times been suspended during restoration work.
The site includes the keep, a former medieval farm building and a one-hectare contemporary garden.
Visiting involves climbing several levels inside the tower, which requires reasonable mobility.