France’s 12 Most Spectacular Castles and Palaces

François I commissioned Château de Chambord in 1519 after being inspired by Italian Renaissance architecture. Although Leonardo da Vinci’s exact involvement remains debated, his influence is often associated with the château’s remarkable design. 

Originally conceived as a royal hunting lodge, Chambord, located in the Loire Valley. One of the finest examples of French Renaissance architecture. Construction was finished around 1547. The château boasts more than 440 rooms and is surrounded by a 32-kilometre wall enclosing the vast Domaine National de Chambord. 

Its most famous feature is the double-helix staircase, which allows two people to ascend separate staircases while remaining visible to one another through openings in the central core, yet never crossing paths.

The Château de Fontainebleau is the only French royal and imperial residence to have been continuously inhabited by monarchs for more than seven centuries, from the medieval period through to the Second Empire under Napoleon III. Its residents included notable monarchs such as Henry IV, Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette. 

Since then, it has been used as a military headquarters for the Prussians, occupied by German forces during the Second World War, and served as a headquarters of the Allies and NATO. It’s located 55 kilometres southeast of Paris. The château contains more than 1,500 rooms, four principal courtyards, three magnificent gardens and a 130-hectare park and was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1981. 

Fancy a contemporary fun fact? This was the filming location for Lana Del Rey’s breakout music video Born to Die.

Mont-Saint-Michel is a famous tidal island and medieval commune in Normandy recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1979 for an extraordinary architectural achievement and for its rare harmony with a dramatic tidal bay.  

The site began in 708 AD after Bishop Aubert of Avranches reportedly received a vision of an angel telling him to build a sanctuary on the rock. A community of Benedictine monks was established on the mount in 966 AD by Duke Richard I. 

The surrounding bay experiences some of the largest tidal variations in Europe. At low tide, the sea retreats up to 15 kilometres while high tide surrounds the island. For centuries, visitors risked quicksand and fast-moving tides, but a pedestrian bridge and hydraulic dam now connect the island to the mainland year-round.

It ranks as one of the most visited tourist attractions in France outside of Paris, attracting roughly 3 million tourists every year.

Château de Chinon is known as the Forteresse Royale de Chinon. Theobald I of Blois built it in the 10th century; it is a medieval fortress on a rocky outcrop overlooking the River Vienne in the Loire Valley, France. Stretching approximately 400 metres in length and 70 metres in width, the fortress was designated a historic monument in 1840 and underwent extensive restoration in the 21st century. 

It became the primary continental residence for Henry II of England, and he died there in 1189. It also served as the refuge of King Charles VII during the Hundred Years’ War. It was the site of the famous 1429 meeting where Joan of Arc recognised Charles VII despite attempts to conceal his identity among the court.

Château du Haut-Kœnigsbourg is a restored medieval fortress in the Vosges mountains of Alsace, France. Perched at about 757 metres on the Stophanberch Ridge, the fortress overlooks the Alsace Plain, the Black Forest and, on clear days, the Alps.

Built in the 12th century, it was destroyed in 1462, later rebuilt, and eventually abandoned after a siege during the Thirty Years’ War in 1633. 

It was restored in 1900 and was listed as a French historic monument in 2007. The castle covers more than 15,000 square metres and features drawbridges, defensive bastions, cannon emplacements and a medieval garden.

Château de Pierrefonds is a spectacular medieval castle rebuilt in the 19th century on the south-eastern edge of the Compiègne Forest, around 80 kilometres northeast of Paris. It was dismantled in 1617 by order of Cardinal Richelieu, leaving it in ruins for over 200 years. It was then purchased by Napoleon I in 1810 and later rebuilt by the renowned architect Eugène Viollet-le-Duc for Napoleon III to serve as an imperial residence. 

The château features eight massive defensive towers, intricate stone carvings and the impressive Hall of the Valiant. Thanks to its fairy-tale appearance, the château has appeared in numerous film and television productions, most notably as Camelot in the BBC series Merlin.