Castles to visit with kids

The 12 most searched for

Ranked by real demand: how often their name is searched on Google each month, and how many reviews visitors have left.

1. 

   No. 1

   Palace of Versailles

   Versailles, Île-de-France

   Home to the kings of France for more than a century, the Palace of Versailles was built at the wish of Louis XIV to display the power of the monarchy.

   all yearOpening hours and access

2. 

   No. 2

   Château de Vincennes (Vincennes Castle)

   Vincennes, Île-de-France

   On the eastern edge of Paris, Vincennes castle features one of Europe's tallest surviving medieval keeps, raised in a single decade under King Charles V in the 14th century.

   Adult ticket: €13see the pageOpening hours and accessTickets

3. 

   No. 3

   Schloss Dankern (Dankern Castle)

   Haren, Lower Saxony

   Schloss Dankern stands in Haren, in the Emsland district, surrounded by a moat that carries its main wing, which rests on wooden piles.

   Adult ticket: €17in seasonOpening hours and access

4. 

   No. 4

   Palais des Papes

   Avignon, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur

   The Palace of the Popes rises above the Rocher des Doms in Avignon and forms the largest Gothic complex built during the Middle Ages.

   Adult ticket: €16all yearOpening hours and access

5. 

   No. 5

   Charlottenburg Palace

   Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf, Berlin

   Schloss Charlottenburg, in Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf (Berlin), Berlin, is the largest surviving royal residence in the German capital.

   Adult ticket: €12see the pageOpening hours and access

6. 

   No. 6

   Château du Puy-du-Fou

   Les Epesses, Pays de la Loire

   The Château du Puy-du-Fou, in Les Epesses, Vendée, combines the remains of a medieval fortress with an unfinished Renaissance wing.

   see the pageOpening hours and access

7. 

   No. 7

   Vaux-le-Vicomte

   Moisenay, Île-de-France

   Located near Melun, in the village of Maincy, the château of Vaux le Vicomte was the first project to unite Le Vau, Le Brun and Le Nôtre, a trio later called upon for Versailles.

   in seasonOpening hours and access

8. 

   No. 8

   Château de Chambord (Chambord Castle)

   Chambord, Centre-Val de Loire

   Chambord is the largest of the Loire châteaux, begun in 1519 for François I within a forested estate enclosed by a 32 kilometre wall.

   Adult ticket: €21all yearOpening hours and accessTickets

9. 

   No. 9

   Obere Burg

   Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg

   Obere Burg, in Heidelberg, Germany. Location, access and practical information.

   Adult ticket: €11see the pageOpening hours and access

10. 

    No. 10

    Reichsburg Cochem

    Cochem, Rhineland-Palatinate

    Standing on a rocky peak above the Moselle, the Reichsburg Cochem overlooks the town it symbolizes.

    Adult ticket: €10all yearOpening hours and access

11. 

    No. 11

    Benrath Palace

    Benrath, North Rhine-Westphalia

    Schloss Benrath is a former pleasure palace built for the Elector Palatine Karl Theodor, south of Düsseldorf.

    see the pageOpening hours and access

12. 

    No. 12

    Guédelon Castle

    Treigny-Perreuse-Sainte-Colombe, Bourgogne-Franche-Comté

    Guédelon is not an old castle but a construction site in progress, where craftspeople have spent years building a 13th-century-style fortress using only period tools and materials.

    in seasonOpening hours and access

Open this weekend

The weekend of Saturday, October 24, based on the opening hours and seasons published by the castles themselves. Check the castle’s page before you go.

• Palace of Versailles · VersaillesSaturday 09:00 to 18:30 · Sunday 09:00 to 18:30
• Palais des Papes · AvignonSaturday 09:00 to 19:00 · Sunday 09:00 to 19:00
• Château du Puy-du-Fou · Les EpessesSaturday 09:00 to 22:30 · Sunday 09:00 to 22:30
• Obere Burg · HeidelbergSaturday 09:00 to 18:00 · Sunday 09:00 to 18:00
• Benrath Palace · BenrathSaturday 11:00 to 18:00 · Sunday 11:00 to 18:00
• Guédelon Castle · Treigny-Perreuse-Sainte-ColombeSaturday 09:30 to 18:30 · Sunday 09:30 to 18:30
• Dresden Castle · DresdenSaturday 10:00 to 17:00 · Sunday 10:00 to 17:00
• Palais de la Porte Dorée · ParisSaturday 10:00 to 19:00 · Sunday 10:00 to 19:00
• Altena Castle · AltenaSaturday 11:00 to 18:00 · Sunday 11:00 to 18:00
• Schloss Weesenstein · MüglitztalSaturday 10:00 to 18:00 · Sunday 10:00 to 18:00
• Colline du Château · NiceSaturday 08:30 to 20:00 · Sunday 08:30 to 20:00
• Scharfenstein Castle · DrebachSaturday 10:00 to 18:00 · Sunday 10:00 to 18:00

Map of castles to visit with kids

The 300 castles on this page. Tap a point to open its page.

The full list, by region

Within each region or state, from the most searched for to the least known. Prices are for one adult.

Admission prices

Of the 188 castles on this page whose price we know, an adult ticket costs from €2.50 to €45, with a median of €9.

9 are free:

• Altena Castle
• Burg Stolberg
• Neideck Castle
• Horst Palace
• Château d'Épinal
• Stickhausen Castle
• Château de Brie-Comte-Robert
• Burg Horn
• Salder House

Prices, area by area:

• Dordogne
• Indre-et-Loire
• Maine-et-Loire
• Yvelines
• Loire-Atlantique
• Saône-et-Loire
• Loiret
• Gironde
• Aveyron
• Loir-et-Cher
• Yonne
• Calvados
• Finistère
• Vendée
• Haute-Vienne
• Bouches-du-Rhône
• Haute-Savoie
• Seine-et-Marne
• Vienne
• Côtes-d'Armor
• Alpes-Maritimes
• Oise
• Gard
• Ardèche
• Mayenne
• Isère
• Côte-d'Or
• Lot
• Aude
• Eure
• Saxony
• Baden-Württemberg
• Thuringia
• Bavaria
• Lower Saxony
• North Rhine-Westphalia
• Saxony-Anhalt
• Brandenburg
• Rhineland-Palatinate
• Berlin
• Hesse

Our study of castle admission prices