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Castles near Lille and the Belgian border: 2 days by car

2 days · 6 châteaux · 173 km

Palais Rihour, the Vert-Bois, Esquelbecq, then Boulogne-sur-Mer, Hardelot and Regnière-Écluse: Flanders on Saturday, the Opal Coast on Sunday.

Written for visitors from Belgium and the Netherlands, for whom Lille is the nearest French city: Brussels, Ghent and Antwerp are all within about two hours by the E17 or by way of Tournai, and Lille Europe has direct high-speed trains from Brussels. The two days need a car. The rhythm is three castles a day in two different landscapes: the first day stays in Flanders, with a palace in the centre of Lille, an estate just north of the city and a moated castle towards Dunkirk; the second drives west to the Opal Coast and finishes beside the A16 at Regnière-Écluse, on the road back north. The opening days choose the weekend for you: Esquelbecq opens on weekend afternoons outside July and August, Hardelot closes on Monday and Boulogne on Tuesday, so Saturday is Flanders and Sunday the coast. Two of the six are visited by booking; each fiche says which, with the hours as they were verified.

Day 1

61 km on the road

On foot first: the Palais Rihour, built for the dukes of Burgundy in the 15th century, stands in the centre of Lille and is closed on Sunday. Then 9 km north to the Vert-Bois at Bondues, a château in a park of about fifty hectares with a craft village and two restaurants, visited by booking, and on to Esquelbecq, a Flemish castle inside its moat, whose gardens and north wing open from 2 pm.

  1. Palais Rihour

    Lille · Nord

    Moyen Age855 reviews

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  2. château du Vert-Bois (Vert-Bois Castle)

    Bondues · Nord

    9 km from the previous stop18e siècle46 reviews

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  3. château d'Esquelbecq (Esquelbecq Castle)

    Esquelbecq · Nord

    52 km from the previous stop15e siècle891 reviews

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The rest of the route

The stops on the following days. The full plan, with distances, goes out by email.

Day 2

West to the coast, about 60 km: Boulogne-sur-Mer first, the castle of the counts at the edge of the old town inside the ramparts, now a museum with vaulted rooms below ground, closed on Tuesday; then 9 km to Hardelot, on its hill above the lake near Hardelot-Plage, closed on Monday; then 42 km south to Regnière-Écluse, visited by booking. The A16 passes close by and runs north to Calais, Dunkirk and the Belgian border.

Before you go

Opening seasons vary from one castle to the next, and several close for part of the year. Check each castle’s fiche before you fix your dates: it carries the hours and prices as they were verified, with the date of verification.

The order of stops is chained nearest-first from the starting town, and distances are as the crow flies: allow a third more by road. Only châteaux whose opening to the public we know are included.