A rock of history and illustrious artists, beaches and legends contrated in the cottages, Normandy is also a territory of castles. Here are the 15 castles and manor houses to visit in Normandy.
Normandy evokes pure air, green landscapes with fruit trees, resolutely earthly and maritime traditions. But what is also striking in this region is the richness of its architectural heritage that constantly calls for memory. To make you discover this wealth, we carefully selected a list of castles and manor houses to visit in Normandy.
Along the coasts or sheltered in the land, Normandy, flanked by History, is a paradise for lovers of old stones. Explore the region in the footsteps of its finest architectural masterpieces!
1. Le Château de Saint-Germain-de-Livet
Photo credit: Shutterstock – Gerhard Roethlinger
Among the castles to be visited in Normandy, Saint-Germain-de-Livet is considered the jewel of the Pays d’Auge and is characterized by its fascinating harmony. Here, the shades and materials marry only for the best. The architecture thus testifies to the union between the Norman dove style of the 15th century and the stone and the varnished bricks of the 16th century.
His interior is magnified by refined furniture and paintings by artists. In addition, this building is beautifully decorated with French doves and gardens offering an infinite tranquility.
2. Castle Gaillard
Photo credit: Shutterstock – Leonid Andronov
This real military masterpiece will delight art and history enthusiasts. The Château Gaillard boasts a vigy on the splendid city of Les Adelys. His imposing silhouette is the result of the hard work and strategy of Richard Cœur de Lion, Duke of Normandy and King of England .
If it no longer holds its protective role, this remarkable medieval fortress is now known for its superb panoramas and vestiges. This castle to visit in Normandy opens on the meanders of the Seine, picturesque districts and limestone sparrows.
3. The Château de Carrouges
Photo credit: Shutterstock – Pack-Shot
Located in the heart of the Normandy-Maine Regional Natural Park, the Château de Carrouges is a wonderful Renaissance era witness. This building climbs into a stiff succession of bricks, granites and slates, until it creates an incredibly harmonious set. Its golden belt marks its ancient importance.
As for its interiors, they have a wealthy period apartments and remarkable rooms. The house is also visited over its ten hectares, with flowers and orchards.
4. The Château de Crèvecœur
Photo credit: Shutterstock – Pack-Shot
This castle to visit in Normandy transports you, in a fraction of a second, in the heart of the Middle Ages. This miraculously preserved medieval site has preserved its original plan in two parts. He embodies one of the last examples of medieval little seigneury.
In the bass courtyard, its barn, its farm and its dovecote keep company to a beautiful stone chapel. The whole holds in the arms of the unshakable vats and high walls, raised on the high court.
5. The Castle of Canon
Photo credit: Shutterstock – Pack-Shot
Back to the 18th century, in a house of perfectly maintained fields. Among the castles to visit in Normandy, this is a fabulous example of classical architecture. From its water mirror, gardens, waterfalls and canals, a deliciously romantic atmosphere emerges.
The area of Canon was the work of a famous lawyer of the Enlightenment and can be classified as “Historical Monument” and “Remarkable Garden”. The point of the visit is marked by the gardens of the Chartreuses, dazzling with its enfilages of perennial plants.
6. The Castle Le Kinnor
Photo credit: Facebook – Château Le Kinnor in Fervaques
In the small town of Fervaques, a building impresses. The Château Le Kinnor is an architectural treasure inherited from the sixteenth century. A castle to visit in Normandy particularly marked by military negotiations, great love stories and literary meetings.
His most famous owner was François-René de Chateaubriand, whose inspiration was certainly blown to him by the oldest plane tree in Orient de France and the beech for several hundred years.
7. The Castle of Mironesmil
Photo credit: Facebook – Château de Miromesnil
Among the castles to visit in Normandy, Mironesmil is a true haven of peace, peace and dream. This domain also has a rich literary and vegetable heritage. He sits in the heart of a beautiful beech tree inhabited by a bicentenary cedar and a vegetable garden that contrasts with the flowery jars.
Its refined and exuberant decoration at a time evokes the beautiful times and taste of its illustrious owners. Among them, Guy de Maupassant.
8. The Château de Falaise
Photo credit: Shutterstock – tikusnn
Medieval gem, straight out of the spirit of the Dukes and Kings, the Château de Falaise is well named. His dreadful dungeons dominate the city and its fortifications. Among the great names that inhabited his walls, Guillaume the Conqueror and his descendants are the most famous.
Moreover, all their spicy is traced through films and atmospheres richly reproduced. Between great principality and military sobriety, this mast of stones tells a thousand years of secrets and stories.
9. The Château de Vendeuvre
Photo credit: Shutterstock – Jef Wodniack
Vendeuvre is a beautiful castle to visit in Normandy, proud witness of the architecture of the eighteenth century. Pass the doors of this house frozen in time but still inhabited. The pieces surprisingly preserved their furniture and their original decoration. The art of living from the time is felt in the beautiful gardens classified as “Remarkable Garden” thanks to the omnipresence of water.
10. The Château de Beaumesnil
Photo credit: Shutterstock – Jef Wodniack
This manor house to visit in Normandy embodies the baroque know-how of the seventeenth century. The brick and stone, far from their original appearance, are here richly decorated. This exceptional residence is surrounded by four hectares of French gardens. The bucolic visit reaches its peak during the passage of the water mirror.
Beaumesnil has another special feature: it is dedicated to greed. The history of gastronomy and table arts is queen. This course of flavors even leads you to piercing the secrets of Beaumesnil caramels. A ballad that ends inevitably with the sounds of the stomachs titilated.
11. The Castle of Pirou
Photo credit: Shutterstock – hecke61
It is no less than five fortified doors that separate you from the fortified castle of Pirou. Not to mention the three doves and the high ramparts. In short, this oldest of Norman castles is an unbeatable fortress. It is enough to imagine life beating under the shale roofs, between the bakery, the press, the chapel and the round path.
12. The Château de Caen
Photo credit: Shutterstock – Pecold
Among the castles to visit in Normandy, that of Caen is the second to honor the epic of William the Conqueror. Over the years, the Dukes of Normandy and Kings of England enlarge this place, raising it to the rank of Europe’s largest fortified enclosure.
Today, the castle houses the Musée de Normandie and the Musée des Beaux-Arts. The extent of fortifications and vestiges will leave you an imperishable memory. At nightfall, the restored ramparts illuminate and fly the star to all landscapes.
13. The Castle of O
Photo credit: Shutterstock – Thomas Dekiere
The castle of O, built in the 15th century, proudly sabers the sky of its immense Renaissance turrets. A witness to a unique artistic or historical know-how, this castle to visit in Normande is a rare example. Its multiple architectural influences are felt from the guard room to intimate lounges. You thus encounter the flamboyant Gothic style and Renaissance during the same visit.
14. The Château de Villiers
Photo credit: Abracadaroom
Among the manors to visit in Normandy, the Villiers stands out by the many decorative arts hanging on its walls. Built at the glimmering corner of the Seine, in the heart of a park with chlorophyll, this manor house is a real masterpiece. It took him two centuries to take his current look and today bears witness to the neo-normand style typical of the twentieth century.
It is also possible to spend an unusual night on the estate! You can choose to sleep inside a dome which offers a breathtaking view of nature, all nestled in the heart of the Château wood. Otherwise, opt for the cabin on pilotis to spend an anti-stress stay in the middle of nature!
15. The Castle of Mesnil Geoffroy
Photo credit: Facebook – Château et Jardins de Mesnil Geoffroy
Ten hectares, this is the size of the park, which is the sumptuous 18th century castle. He is part of the castles to visit in Normandy still inhabited by a princely couple. It offers romantic strolls with the fragrances of flowers and the colors of ancient vegetables.
The rose garden is the most beautiful place in the gardens. Lose yourself, like Alice, in her maze in charm. Point of the rabbit here, but chickens, ducks and exotic birds.
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