Visit Pierrefonds Castle and you can say you’ve been to Camelot! The castle was used as a set for the BBC series ‘Merlin’ and it’s easy to see why as it is in excellent state of repair and an incredibly romantic rendition of a medieval fortress.
Visiting Pierrefonds Castle
We stayed north of Paris and our visit to the castle was a day trip. There is plenty of parking in the town and also a couple of cafes.
My Experience
Our visit to Pierrefonds Castle was part of a week long trip where we stayed at the Marriott resort, just north of Paris. There was plenty of parking once we reached the town and we headed straight to the imposing chateau along a meandering path that followed the castle walls.
After a quick bag search we bought our tickets and entered the courtyard. The stonework was impressive, lots of grotesques and gargoyles and some very weird mythic creatures indeed. The exhibition on the restoration was interesting – although it was all in French – and it was quite a state when they started work!
The interior was quite amazing – similar to Castel Coch but more grand. I guess if you are Napoleon III money really doesn’t matter! The photos haven’t come out that well as the weather was so dull but the colours were impressive and the sheer scale of the rooms was breathtaking. The cellars had an interesting statuary exhibition on great figures of French history but it was too dark for photos.
Pierrefonds Castle Photo Gallery
History
On the edge of the Compiègne Forest in Oise, Pierrefonds Castle is remarkable for its surprising history. Built in the late 14th century by the Duke Louis d’Orléans, it was dismantled in the 17th century. It was completely abandoned and was in ruins when Napoleon I bought it. But it was not until the reign of Napoleon III that work began to rebuild it in 1858.
This project was entrusted to the architect Eugène Viollet-le-Duc, who decided to turn it into a castle worthy of the Middle Ages. Although Viollet-le-Duc focussed on the Gothic style, he still gave free rein to his creativity and created a majestic castle with ramparts, loopholes, a wall walk with machicolations, a keep, towers and mysterious gargoyles, as well as footbridges, porticoes and galleries.
References
The official website, here, is pretty useless as an information source but it does allow you to book tickets online.
A better resource is the France Voyage website here and the history above is copied from that site.
The Wiki page here gives a more detailed history, explaining how the castle was largely destroyed on Cardinal Richelieu’s orders.