Chateau de Hautefort is best seen from the near distance. This imposing fortress is seen clear…read moreabove the village for miles around. From Roman times, there has been a fortress here and today the oldest part is the 14/15th century Tower of Brittany. On paying the admission of EUR8.50, you undertake a self-guiding tour though various parts of the often restored castle, seeing many of the rooms with their furniture and wall hangings. In the immediate area around the castle, you have quite impressive French style gardens, mainly trimmed box with, here and there, a few concessions to colour with the use of flowers. Another attraction is supposed to be the English style gardens but this has been better days as you will see from the empty water-garden and other missing bits. The Chateau, now run under the rules of a foundation, obviously rents out its facilities to pay the huge costs. On the day we visited, we saw vans and cars at the entrance making deliveries for a reception that evening. A marquee had been set up in the main courtyard, a drinks reception was being arranged under the hedge tunnel and an orchestra was also being set up. You could come a long way and pay your money and then find the close-up views you wanted of the castle spoiled by the parking of the tradesmen and suppliers. But don't worry, the best views are from the near distance. Of course, if you are interested in the gardens, the tapestries, ornaments and furniture, and many of you are, by all means come and do the tour. Otherwise, take your photo down the road and carry on.

beautiful castle and its gardens. Comme visit Le Château d'Hautefort, you will love it…read more Video link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=58UpZbctEJU&feature=player_embedded #

A wonderful tour of this 12th century castle and surrounding area. Suggest you go with a guide or…read moresome type of guide book so that you know what you are looking at. Apparently Vikings made it this far at some point. Saw what was said to have been Richard the Lionheart's bedroom. Stunning scenery at the meeting point of French and English cultures and the site of many terrible battles. If you are in the Dordogne I recommend you stop by. Mark.

This chateau is like Middle Ages look castle. It great for movie set. It is built as military base…read more Easy to defend and hard to attack. It is part of Dordogne area castle. This castle was built in 12 century. The castle is coated on the cliffs that have good view to Dordogne river below. The castle is a bit bare in compared with many other decorated castle. However the stair and overlook make up the beauty of the interior castle. Many film has done their production here. Love the pictures perfect outward.

This chateau is like a defensive castle. It is medieval castle overlooking the Dordogne River. I…read morecan see this castle from Chateau de Beynac. Seem like they facing each other. The entrance to the gate is tricky from the parking lot. It go though the small city below. The chateau split into two parts. The wall and chateau building. They have huge wall area and defense systems during medieval. They even have canon that shot to lower area of chateau. During chateau building visit, you can see their armory has knight outfit, sword, bow and arrow and more. The chateau visit need two hours. Parking pay at parking machine. Below castle is the market and restaurant. The castle founded at 12th century. It has been handed to English in 1273. France got it back 1442.

**BEAUTIFUL CHÂTEAU AND VIEWS**…read more WHAT ====== The Château de Castelnaud, officially listed as an Historic Site in 1966, stands high over the Dordogne valley, with magnificent views of the châteaux of Beynac and Marqueyssac and the medieval village of La Roque-Gageac. Open to the public since 1985, this one-time fortress is now given over entirely to displaying the art of warfare in the Middle Ages. PARKING ======== Village car park, with small fee. We actually canoed down the Dordogne River, parked on the banks, and walked up. INSIDE ====== Unique private collection of arms, weaponry, and armor, as well as furniture from the period. OUTSIDE ======== Reconstructions of war machines, such as siege catapults, in actual size. These are reinforced by models and videos, explaining a medieval château's different methods of attack and defense. NOW ====== Attracts more than 220,000 visitors a year. PRICES ====== Currently: Adults (17+) - 8,60 Euros Child (10-17) - 4,30 Euros Please check their website for current prices. It can also differ by times you get in. HOURS ====== Open daily all the year. (Last admission one hour before closure.) Please check their website for hours: http://www.castelnaud.com/uk/# PRO TIPS ======== - Disabled visitors: Due to its many narrow stairways,access to the museum maybe difficult for people with impaired mobility. But access to the lower courtyard, the viewpoint and the barbican is possible. - For visitors with impaired vision, a Braille version of the printed guide is available. - Guide dogs are allowed in the museum. - Animals are allowed if on a leash. - Photography is permitted in the museum. - The boutique shop is open all the year. We enjoyed the great views and the museum overall. HIGHLY RECOMMEND.

The village of Bourdeilles is an attractive village next to the river to the south-east of…read moreBrantome, and is dominated by its Chateau. There are two distinct parts to the Chateau de Bourdeilles: 1. A sturdy fortress dating back to the 13th century, constructed on a rocky spur and dominated by an octagonal keep. The octagonal keep is 35meters high and has walls 2.4 meters thick and it dominates views of the village. It is possible to climb to the top and get some superb views of the village below. 2. The Renaissance castle (the part designed by Jacquett de Montbron) with richly furnished rooms such as the sumptuous 'Salon Doré with a beautiful painted ceiling. There is a prestigious collection of furniture including the gilt Spanish bed of Charles V. Both castles are surrounded by sturdy fortified walls One striking feature of this castle is that it was designed by a woman, Jacquett de Montbron. Entrance is approx 7 Euro for adults and 4.5 Euro for Children. The place is well worth a visit and a trip to the top of the huge tower is a must (except for sufferers of vertigo!). There are lots of nice little cafes in the town where you can get your energy back afterwards after the long climb to the top of the tower.

From the owner: Le Château de Bourdeiles est en réalité composé de deux château : une forteresse médiaval et un…read morelogis renaissance.

A picture perfect Chateau, which is situated right outside of Bergerac and visible from quite a…read moredistance. Chateau De Monbazillac is a reputable French castle located in the heart of Monbazillac wine vineyards. I enjoyed taking a lovely stroll through this medieval castle and wine vineyard. The Renaissance castle was originally built in 1550, by Charles Aydie. After the 16th Century there were several different owners of the castle. In 1960, the castle was bought by, Monbazillac Cellars Company, it is now used as a wine vineyard and museum. I very feel fortunate that I had the opportunity to visit such a beautiful castle with Dutchman. Enjoy!

This is a fantastic Chateau. It looks like right out of a fairy tale. And it's pretty massive in…read moresize. On this weekday were surprisingly few visitors. Hard to imagine, because the castle and the gardens are stunning and you can easily spent a bunch of hours here. There's plenty of parking right out front on the town square. Free of charge. 10.50 a person is a great deal, gives you access to almost everything including a self-guiding booklet with informations. Our Bulldog was welcome here as well. Free of charge. The castles construction dates from the 15th, 16th and 17th centuries. At the rear façade is a terrassed lawn and an orangery. A nice sized garden completes the site. The castle and gardens are privately owned and is really kept in a great state and condition. There are plenty of rooms to discover and then you can stroll around in the wonderful gardens. It's just a pretty place. Inside and out. The very pretty Church of Saint-Pierre-ès-Liens is also on site. Really an amazing place to be. Worth a longer drive surely. Staff is great. Welcoming and helpful. And lots of useful informations everywhere. As well as a souvenir shop of course. Definitely a highlight of our trip.

From the owner: Site majeur Ce château, classé monument historique, est ouvert toute l'année, cependant il faut…read mores'acquitter d'un droit d'entrée pour le visiter. Des visites guidées du château, des toitures et des jarins sont donc organisées dans l'année.

Glorious views, great food, lovely atmosphere: this is what you can expect staying at Chateau de la…read moreVigne. We chose the Troubadour room (which was incredible) and had a romantic candle-lit dinner with delicious, home-made food elegantly served just for us. All preceded by an interesting tour of the castle and its history, where we could also admire an impressive collection of dolls and miniature cars (two of the passions of the hosts). In a nutshell, we felt like a prince and princess from an enchanting fairytale. Easily one of the best experiences of our lives, we definitely will be staying here again. If you are looking for an exquisite room, gracious hosts, and an unforgettable experience staying in a 15th century castle then look no further! We fell in love and we are sure you will too!! Amazing!!!

Are you traveling through France and want to experience south-eastern fine dining? This is the…read moreplace for you. My boyfriend and I came here to celebrate my birthday and I am now happy, full, and a little drunk. They apparently have a much more economic fixed lunch menu at 40-something euros each, and a few other options at 80-something and 90-something each. But it was my birthday and I do love my foie gras, so the menu classique at 116 each, it was, and we were not sorry. The menu was apparently a sampling of re-imagined regional classics - and I'm a sucker for local foods. They started us off in a cozy room and sat us in front of a fire, which was much welcomed in this stubborn spring weather, brought out two glasses of champagne, and a plate with 3 amuse-bouche to start. The first was a toothpicked slice of artisanal cured salmon in beetroot juice under a layer of cream, topped with... duck I want to say? YUM. The second was a duck meatball with pistachios I believe. The third was phenomenal, something that I am sure to dream of for years to come. We were instructed to eat it all in one bite and when it comes to food, I do as I am told. A breaded little square of heavenly goodness that when bit into melted into liquid foie gras just sliding down your throat. I would like one/ten of those everyday before each meal, for the rest of my life please. Ok. Now to the meal, amazing. I'll try to remember it all. We were started with an oyster on a half shell poached in moscato, with a moscato foam and bits of crunchy bacon. Then an asparagus veloute that I suspect was made with witchcraft as asparagus soup in my house never quite tastes that good.... Some raw shaved asparagus, the top halves of some beautifully lightly poached asparagus, and a perfectly poached egg with truffles embedded into it's whites... too good to be true? I think so too. Wizard. Moving on to a beautifully cooked lobster accompanied by Normantie potatoes, small fingerling cooked deliciousness, accompanied by a generous amount of roasted garlic, a lobster claw, and more lobster chunks, all arranged in front of us by our magnificent maetre d'hotel (master of hotel?--more on him later). While the potatoes, the lobster, the garlic, all beautiful and elegant, the real star of the dish was the sauce. A brown --meat sauce--as my boyfriend calls it. Salty, tangy, buttery, savory, herby - all the good stuff. Then we were brought out a mill fouille of meat. What is this, you ask? Thin slices of cooked to perfection medium rare stake and decadent delicious foie gras. Topped by an inflated potato skin, a sweet, buttery carrot, on the side was a mille foille of potatoes, and then another brown meat sauce a little sweeter than the previous, and really just.... perfect. By this point i was almost too full.. and there's more. so much more. Then comes the cheese course. a wonderfully fragrant and almost spicy block of blue cheese, hugged by two very thin sweet crackers and a bit of salad scattered about. a slice of a red wine poached pear with such a beautiful fragrant cinnamon flavor. Simple, elegant, and beautiful. Then we were brought a mini cheese cake, a bit larger than an amuse bouche on a plate decorated by chocolate sauce, raspberry sauce, slices of citrisy things, all together simply delicious. Next was the real desert? MORE! a out tiny marble sized piece of poached pear with a dot of chocolate up top. a pear sorbet. a cream/topped with pear jello/topped with a custard thing that was absolutely delicious. a small square of saffron flan with a gingerbread like cookie crumble on top. yum. and next our maetre d'hotel brought this out for everyone, he said compliments of the chef? a plate with a basil infused strawberry cream...a little caramel nut pie?! a big bar of orange zest white chocolate, and pistachio covered dark chocolate, and a walnut covered wafer. I could die. actually..Did I!? The food was phenomenal, the place was perfect, with a beautiful garden outback that's worth a walk around and lent itself to some beautiful (if I do say so myself) photo opps. The staff was kind, courteous, and extremely helpful. We asked our maetre d'hotel who is extremely knowledgeable to please pick out our demi-bottle of white and red, and man were we happy we did, he also assured us he would be reasonable with the price, which since I wasn't paying, couldn't have mattered less to me! Muahahahaaa! I kid, I kid. It was definitely nice to know we wouldn't be charged 3,000 for a bottle of wine. We started with the white-beautiful, crisp, light, floral, not too dry, but a very nice bottle of white. and then the red was the real showstopper, we opened it up right after the lobster and I swear with every gout(taste) I could taste that roasted garlic stronger in my mouth. This red had such an amazing and unusual aftertaste of butter. I wanted to slather it on some bread and then bathe in it. Perfect meal. Will dream of this for years to come