Normandy Châteaux

Say France and one thing many people think about is French "Châteaux".  Maybe Versailles near Paris or the many fabulous castles along the Loire and Dordogne valleys spring to mind.  However here in Normandy we also have our fair share of "Châteaux".

In France the word château fort (strong castle) refers to medieval type castles with towers and moats, thick walls and arrow slits for windows.  Your archetypal castle of knights and damsels in distress!  The ascent of François 1st to the French throne in 1515 saw the birth of the French Renaissance and with it the building of a new type of château or what we would to refer to as stately homes.  Gone were the moats and thick walls to be replaced with windows, decorative towers, landscaped gardens and above all luxury on a huge scale.

Le château de Pontécoulant

The closest château to Eco-Gites of Lenault is a small château of this later type - Le château de Pontécoulant.  Close enough to walk or cycle to and is nestled in the valley between us and Condé-sur-Noireau.  It is not huge and you may well find you have a tour pretty much to yourself but is is an interesting visit and shows how the rich of this region lived in years gone by.

 

Falaise Castle

Falaise Castle is our closest château fort.  Dating back to the11th century, Falaise was the birthplace of William the Conqueror, although much of the castle you now see has been reconstructed after falling into ruins in the 18th century.  Don't be put off by this though - it is a magnificent place to visit and boasts fantastic new interactive displays that really bring the castle to life.

Caen Castle

Caen also has a medieval castle but I have to admit to have never visited it.  The boys have been twice with school but may possibly have had a slightly biased view of their day ... "the castle was great but why did we have to spend so long in the museum?!"  I'll leave you to see what you think of it then and we'll try and visit ourselves this year!  (I hope it is better than their website!)

The Château de Balleroy

The Château de Balleroy is a stately home just 45 minutes from here.   A large stately home built in 1631 it has all you would expect from a fine Renaissance building including landscaped gardens and perhaps not quite of the era, a hot air balloon museum.  It is on our "Places to Visit in 2014" list and maybe a balloon museum will be more interesting to the boys than the Museum of Fine Art attached to Caen Castle.  We shall have to see.
PS - I have since visited Balleroy and it is lovely - have a read here.

These are just a few of the Châteaux you can visit in Normandy - and with such variety there should be something to keep everyone happy.  Have you visited any of these castles?  Do let us know what you thought of them in the comments section below.  I also have a Pinterest board to celebrate these fabulous buildings - Normandy Châteaux.