Skip to content
Chateaupedia

Medieval castles and strongholds

4,862 châteaux listed · verified entries first, then the most visited; alphabetical index at the bottom of the page

Keeps, curtain walls and fortresses raised between the 11th and 15th centuries. These are visited by climbing stairs, bring proper shoes.

We record 4,862 castles, manor houses and strongholds from the Middle Ages, spread across 4,258 towns and villages. The ones with the most visitor reviews are Louvre Palace (open to visitors), Château du Puy-du-Fou (a listed historic monument), Palais des Papes (14th century), Domaine de Chenonceau (with a restaurant) and Château du Haut-Koenigsbourg (ou Hohenkoenigsbourg) (43,135 reviews).

845 of them receive visitors, according to their official website or their business listing. We have checked the opening hours of 688 and the prices of 428 of them, and each entry shows the date of that check. 1,108 of them are listed historic monuments, the highest level of protection in French heritage law. The dominant period is the Middle Ages, with 4,862 buildings. Each entry says what we could verify and what still needs confirming: enough to plan a day that holds together.

This page lists the 400 most visited châteaux out of 4,862. Department by department, the list is complete.

Narrow this list

Every entry, A to Z

The full list for this department, for when you already know the name.

See all 4,862 châteaux in the Explorer

Frequently asked

How many châteaux from the Middle Ages can you visit?
We record 4,862 châteaux from the Middle Ages, across 4,258 towns and villages. Not all are open: many are private properties we list for their heritage interest, and the entry says so when we know.
Which is the most visited château from the Middle Ages?
Palais du Louvre, in 1er arrondissement de Paris, with 372,801 visitor reviews. Actual footfall is the measure, not an editorial ranking.
How many châteaux from the Middle Ages are listed historic monuments?
1,108 out of 4,862. Listing is the highest level of protection in French heritage law; every entry links to its official record in the Mérimée database.
Where can I find opening hours?
On each entry. We know the hours of 688 châteaux in this list, read from their official website or their business listing, with the date we last checked shown.

See all departments