THE BEST CASTLES NEAR PARIS

We don't discover anything if we say that France is the land of castles. With its huge defensive walls, its graves surrounding them, its drawbridges and its thousand stories it is easy to transport us to a remote time, an era of kings, courtiers, jesters and even princesses trapped in towers, dragons, fairies and sorceresses ... In the Around Paris are some of the best examples of medieval castles in France, such as those in the Loire Valley. Here we tell you more about some of them.

Built in 1519 by Francisco I as a hunting residence, today it is the largest and most famous in the Loire Valley, partly thanks to its French Renaissance architecture. It is said that the double helix staircase and the terrace towers were designed by Leonardo da Vinci. In 1981 it became a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.

→ How to get there. It is located about 2 hours south of Paris. To get the best option is to take a train at the Austerliz station in the direction of Blois and then transfer to Chambord. The trains run only in high station, as an alternative you can take bus line 18. Or on a tour that includes several castles of the Loire.

→ Rates. General admission, € 11. Free for EU citizens under 26 years.

If the one in Chambord stands out for its size and its architecture, it does so because it is the one with the most beautiful decoration of all of the Loire Valley. It was built in 1620 by the Hurault family, to which it still belongs today, and in fact it is still inhabited! Hergé, the Belgian creator of Tintin, was inspired by this castle to create the Moulinsart Castle.

→ How to get there. It is located about 2 hours south of Paris and 18 km from Chambord. To get the best option is to take a train at the Austerliz station in the direction of Blois and then transfer to Chambord. The trains run only in high station, as an alternative you can take bus line 18. You can also go by TGV from Paris Montparnasse to Vendôme and from there to Blois and Cheverny. Or on a tour that includes several castles of the Loire.

→ Rates. General admission, € 9.50. Free for children under 7 years.

Photo by Benh LIEU SONG (Flickr)

Known as "the Ladies' Castle", since its history is linked to the female sex: it was built in 1513 by Katherine Briçonnet; later reformed by Diana de Poitiers and Catalina de Médicis and finally freed from destruction in the French Revolution by Mrs. Dupin. Its gallery bridge over the Cher river is remarkable.

→ How to get there. It is located about 2 hours south of Paris and 34 km from Tours and 36 km from Blois. You can do as in the previous ones, get to Blois by train from Austerliz station and there change to Chenonceau. Or get to Tours from Paris-Montparnasse by TGV and then take a train from the TER to the Gare de Chisseaux Chenonceaux, which is 2 km from the castle of Chenonceau. Or on a tour that includes several castles of the Loire.

→ Rates. General admission, € 12.50.

In a privileged location, in the middle of the city of Amboise, and with excellent walls, this castle is famous for being the site of the Leonardo da Vinci skeleton, which resided in the same town. In fact, it is not certain that these remains were of genius, although they were later buried in the Saint-Hubert chapel, next to the castle, and that today it can be visited.

→ How to get there. The city of Amboise about 22 kilometers east of Tours. To get there, take a TGV train in Paris-Montparnasse to St. Pierre des Corps (Tours) and then take a regional train to Amboise. There is also a bus service from the Touraine Fil-vert company that links Tours with Montrichard through Amboise for € 1.50.

→ Rates. General admission, € 10.70.

Photo by Daniel Jolivet (Flickr)

These four castles can be visited in a day with private excursions to "The Castles of the Loire". In fact they can be quite advisable considering that transport to here from Paris is not quite simple, nor is it cheap.

This palace, one of the largest in France, is the forerunner of several artistic styles throughout its history. In the first place, he introduced in France the Italian Mannerism, in the decoration of interiors and in the gardens, adapting it to his own style, known as "Fontainebleau style". Also here the Renaissance was introduced for the first time in France, under the influence of Enrique II and Catalina de Médici, who hired the architects Philibert Delorme and Jean Bullant, with whom they carried out an important remodeling campaign. The new style began to be transmitted through the engravings made by the Fontainebleau School to the rest of France and northern Europe. Near Fontainebleau is the town of Barbizon, famous since the 19th century thanks to artists such as Millet, Rousseau and Stevenson.

→ How to get there. It is located about 60 km southeast of Paris. To get there, take the train at Gare de Lyon towards Montargis, Montereau or Laroche-Migennes and get off at the Fontainebleau-Avon station. Then you have to take the bus line 1 direction Les Lilas that reaches the castle.

→ Rates. General admission, € 11.00. Free for those under 18 and the first Sunday of each month. The gardens are freely accessible.

He is the little brother of the Palace of Versailles, we say small because he is less acclaimed and known than the latter. However, its construction was earlier and actually served as a reference for Versailles. The castle was built in 1661 by Nicolas Fouquet, Minister of Finance of Louis XIV, who felt hurt in the ego when he saw that an official had such a lavish palace and sent him to prison, where he would die in 1680. Not being happy With this, the Sun King took over the services of landscape gardener Le Nôtre and initiated the project of the Palace of Versailles and its gardens, as we say, inspired by this castle. At present it is the largest private castle in France and the visit is interesting if it coincides with any of the water shows that are organized in summer.

→ How to get there. There are direct trains from Gare de Lyon to Melun, every half hour and take 30 minutes.

→ Rates. General admission, € 16.50.

Photo by Guillaume Speurt (Flickr)

Here we do a little cheating, it is not a castle proper, nor is it near Paris, but the special charm of this place deserves to be included in the list ... besides what the hell, the site is very cool! Who does not know the evocative silhouette of Mont Saint Michel surrounded by the waters of the Atlantic and ascending to the sky? The construction of the Abbey was completed in the 16th century and was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1979. Since then it has become one of the most visited places in all of France, and it does not surprise us! But already in the Middle Ages it was an important pilgrimage center, loaded with legends and myths that made it special since then.

The visit can be started at the foot of "the island", in the village from where you begin the ascent to the Abbey surrounded by walls, a path to a fascinating fairytale world (if you have imagination). At its highest point, the abbey is crowned by the statue of Archangel Michael killing a dragon, a symbol of the triumph of good over evil.

And of course, be amazed at the extreme changes in the tides. At low tide, the mountain is surrounded by kilometers of dry terrain, however the tide rises becomes a water-covered bay where the impressive rock is born.

Photo by afloresm (Flickr)

→ Rates. General admission, € 9; reduced (non-European between 18 and 25 years old), € 7; Europeans under 26, free.

→ How to arrive by free:

:: By train. The nearest train station is “Pontorson”, 9 km from Mont Saint Michel. You can arrive by regional train and then take a local bus or take a TGV in Paris Montparnasse to Rennes station and there take another train to Pontorson or a direct bus to Mont Saint Michel, the bus station is just at the exit from Rennes station. The train prices from Paris to Rennes depend on the time in which they are purchased (between € 25 and € 60). The bus from Rennes to Mont Saint Michel costs around € 15.

:: By bus. There is an option to get from Paris to Rennes by bus. This map of GoEuro shows the companies that operate after the liberalization of the bus market, the Paris-Rennes route is covered by two different companies. The trip is cheaper (about € 15) than by train but it is somewhat longer, so it is best to spend the night in that area.

Video: 5 Chateaux by Metro from Paris - French Friday - Five Castles Near Paris by RER and Metro (April 2024).