What is the most beautiful castle in Dordogne?

The most visited in Dordogne is Château de Biron, first in this selection according to its visitors’ reviews. All 10 castles listed are open to visitors with checked hours.

How much does a visit cost?

The adult entry price is shown under each castle when the official website publishes it; 3 of these castles are free.

How is this selection made?

Among the 309 castles recorded in Dordogne, we keep those open to the public with a photo, then rank by number of Google reviews. No castle pays to appear.

The 10 most beautiful castles in Dordogne

10 châteaux

Chosen among 309 recorded castles

What to see in Dordogne when you only have a weekend: the 10 most visited castles according to their visitors’ reviews, among those open to the public whose visiting conditions we checked on the official website. For each: what you see, the entry price, the link to the full entry.

Ranked by attendance, from the number of Google reviews. “Beautiful” is your word; what we measure is what visitors choose.

No. 1
Château de Biron (Biron Castle)
Biron
The château de Biron rises over the Périgord pourpre area, its origins dating back to the 12th century. It served as the seat of one of the four great baronies of Périgord, alongside Beynac, Bourdeilles and Mareuil.
Hours, prices and access
No. 2
Château de Bourdeilles (Bourdeilles Castle)
Bourdeilles
At Bourdeilles, in the Dordogne, two castles stand side by side on the same rocky spur: a 13th-century fortress raised by Géraud de Maulmont, and a Renaissance palace built in the 16th century by Jacquette de Montbron, on the former site of the Bourdeille family's baronial castle.
Hours, prices and access
No. 3
Château de Campagne (Campagne Castle)
Campagne
On the edge of the village of Campagne, in the Périgord noir region, this château dates its oldest parts to the 15th century and stands beneath a cliff rising nearly 150 metres above it. Partly bordered by a moat, it sits within a public park reshaped in the 19th century by a Bordeaux nurseryman.
Free entryHours, prices and access
No. 4
Château du Paluel
Saint-Vincent-le-Paluel
Set on a rocky spur above the Énéa valley in the Périgord noir, Paluel castle still bears the marks of a turbulent past: burned down in 1944, left to the undergrowth for decades, and bought as a ruin in 2017 by a young restorer from the Dordogne.
Adult €8.70Hours, prices and access
No. 5
Château de la Malartrie (Malartrie Castle)
Vézac
At the western edge of La Roque-Gageac, within the commune of Vézac, the château de la Malartrie sits right on the banks of the Dordogne river. Its appearance recalls fifteenth-century architecture, though the building was actually put up around 1900, in the historicist taste fashionable at the time.
Hours, prices and access
No. 6
Château d'Excideuil (Excideuil Castle)
Excideuil
Set on a rocky outcrop above the Loue valley, Excideuil castle has guarded the route between the Limousin and Périgord regions since the 11th century.
Free entryHours, prices and access
No. 7
Château de Lanquais (Lanquais Castle)
Lanquais
In Lanquais, in the Périgord pourpre, a fortified 15th-century dwelling stands next to an unfinished Renaissance wing built from the 1560s for Galliot de La Tour.
Hours, prices and access
No. 8
Château de Carlux (Carlux Castle)
Carlux
The château de Carlux stands above the Dordogne river, its remaining walls carrying nearly a thousand years of Périgord history.
Free entryHours, prices and access
No. 9
Château d'Eymet (Eymet Castle)
Eymet
In Eymet, a bastide town founded in 1270 by Alphonse de Poitiers, the castle holds a distinctive place: built against the northern rampart, it forms part of the town's defensive wall.
Hours, prices and access
No. 10
Château de Mareuil (Mareuil Castle)
Mareuil en Périgord
Once the seat of one of the four baronies of Périgord, the Château de Mareuil stands beside the Belle river at the edge of the village bearing its name.
Hours, prices and access

Every castle in Dordogne (309)Which ones open this weekend?

Frequently asked questions

What is the most beautiful castle in Dordogne?: The most visited in Dordogne is Château de Biron, first in this selection according to its visitors’ reviews. All 10 castles listed are open to visitors with checked hours.
How much does a visit cost?: The adult entry price is shown under each castle when the official website publishes it; 3 of these castles are free.
How is this selection made?: Among the 309 castles recorded in Dordogne, we keep those open to the public with a photo, then rank by number of Google reviews. No castle pays to appear.