What is the most beautiful castle in Yonne?

The most visited in Yonne is Guédelon Castle, 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; 0 of these castles are free.

How is this selection made?

Among the 99 castles recorded in Yonne, 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 Yonne

10 châteaux

Chosen among 99 recorded castles

What to see in Yonne 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 renown: how often their name is searched on Google each month, and how many reviews visitors have left. “Beautiful” is your word; what we measure is what visitors choose.

No. 1
Guédelon Castle
Treigny-Perreuse-Sainte-Colombe
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. Visitors can watch stonemasons, carpenters, blacksmiths and millers at work, in a project designed as a piece of experimental archaeology.
Hours, prices and access
No. 2
Château de Saint-Fargeau (Saint-Fargeau Castle)
Saint-Fargeau
Built on the site of a fortified hunting lodge dating back to the 10th century, Saint-Fargeau castle keeps the pentagonal shape given to it by Antoine de Chabannes after 1453, with its massive tower acting as a keep.
Adult €12Hours, prices and access
No. 3
Château de Vallery (Vallery Castle)
Vallery
In Vallery, in the Yonne department, stand the remains of a 14th-century fortified castle alongside an unfinished Renaissance palace, attributed to the architect Pierre Lescot.
Hours, prices and access
No. 4
Château de Tanlay (Tanlay Castle)
Tanlay
Surrounded by moats in the countryside of the Yonne, the Château de Tanlay combines Renaissance architecture with classical additions carried out in the 17th century by architect Pierre Le Muet.
Adult €12Hours, prices and access
No. 5
Château d'Ancy-le-Franc
Ancy-le-Franc
In Ancy-le-Franc, in the Yonne department, stands a château built in the mid 16th century for Antoine III de Clermont-Tonnerre, following plans brought from Italy by Sebastiano Serlio.
Hours, prices and access
No. 6
Château de Maulnes (Maulnes Castle)
Cruzy-le-Châtel
The château de Maulnes stands in a forest clearing in the Yonne, built on an unusual pentagonal plan for French Renaissance architecture.
Adult €10Hours, prices and access
No. 7
Château de Ratilly (Ratilly Castle)
Treigny-Perreuse-Sainte-Colombe
In the Puisaye region, the château de Ratilly stands with its six sandstone towers atop a rise overlooking the Vrille valley.
Adult €6Hours, prices and access
No. 8
Château de Chastellux (Chastellux Castle)
Chastellux-sur-Cure
Perched on a rocky spur above the Cure river, Chastellux castle still belongs to the family that built it, a rare situation in France. The site preserves remains from several periods, from the Saint-Jean tower, one of the oldest towers in Europe, to additions made in the 19th century.
Hours, prices and access
No. 9
Château de Vault-de-Lugny
Vault-de-Lugny
The Château de Vault-de-Lugny stands in the Yonne department, a short distance west of Avallon at the edge of the Morvan region. Its keep, dating from the 14th century and built under Guy II de Toucy, bears witness to a turbulent past shaped by the Hundred Years' War and the raids of the Écorcheurs.
Hours, prices and access
No. 10
Château du Fey (Fey Castle)
Villecien
Set on a hilltop above the Yonne valley, the château du Feÿ combines remnants of a 16th-century house with the building campaign begun in 1620 by Nicolas de Baugy. A long tree-lined drive through the surrounding woods leads to the property in Villecien.
Hours, prices and access

Every castle in Yonne (99)Which ones open this weekend?

Frequently asked questions

What is the most beautiful castle in Yonne?: The most visited in Yonne is Guédelon Castle, 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; 0 of these castles are free.
How is this selection made?: Among the 99 castles recorded in Yonne, we keep those open to the public with a photo, then rank by number of Google reviews. No castle pays to appear.