citadel of bitche

Nice climb, excellent guided audio tour, very interesting. nice views from the top. A bit expensive, but still worth the money!

Just the walk up is impressive as you get a feel for how enormous the place really is. 10 Euro for an audio guided tour (headphones). The underground tunnels are pretty cool and there are stops that shows video to make you feel like you are part of the action in 1870. Views from above are impressive as well. Recommend stopping by if you are in the area.

Driving down the hill into this lovely town (on a warm Autumn day), I was stunned to see the beautiful citadel. Had to visit this directly after lunch. What a beautiful piece of history. My child was so interested and was fascinated with the moat, cannons, and more.

fascinating presentation of the 1870/71 war, most impressive fort, a must to see,don´t miss "Le Jardin de la Paix" next to the fort, fantastic garden creation

Place where you can feel the history, interesting mainly for little kids I would say but even adults will be content. You will get headphones to listen interesting stories and at the end you can visit little souvenir shop. If you are in area and dont know what to do, dont hesitate to try this attraction.

There is a cost to walk through this Citadel, but it is definitely worth it. There is an earphone for all languages and you walk through in a somewhat controlled way. Videos come on in the various areas of the Citadel and you can feel what it must have been like to be a soldier in the Franco-Prussian War. A lot of work has been done to make this tour memorable and the experience was excellent.

The citadel was built in the 1700's and is the site of much interesting history, including a 230 day siege. The walk around the citadel on a curvy path between trees gives panoramic views of the surrounding countryside. Inside, you can choose the audio tour for 10 euros, or one without, for 6 euros. There is a cafe and store, as well as a small museum with uniforms of German and French soldiers and information about the history of the citadel. There is also a cinema (closed when we were there). Below the citadel are peace gardens, each creatively and whimsically designed.

We visited on a Saturday afternoon. I had been wanting to come here for quite some time after seeing pictures of just how dominating this fortress is. It completely dominates the skyline, and is quite massive. In this sense, I wasn't disappointed. However, I'm a castle/fortress buff, whereas my wife can take or leave them. We walked the steep climb to the entrance and paid our €20 (€10 each) to get in (our 3-year old was free). This came complete with an audio guide tour with horrendously stylish headphones. The cool thing was, they were run by Bluetooth or RFID or something that when you walked a certain place, commentary for that place started. The bad thing was, if you walked too fast, you had to look back at what you missed, as they talked about it. You also get a guided, underground tour about the history of the citadel, using the same system. You go in a group, and it starts with a short introductory film, introducing the character that would be your "narrator" through the film. It was told from the point of view of a French soldier during the Franco-Prussian war. The system then works that you move from room to room as a group, and not only do you learn about the use for that certain room, but you follow the historic story of this young man and the siege of the citadel. However, this is where the citadel loses a bunch of credit. In one of the first scenes after the introduction, you see dirty, messy, chaotic war scenes. I was o.k. with this until the scene moved to soldiers rounding up women and children, and clearly pulling a screaming woman away from her children and forcing her to face the firing squad, on the spot. It then switches to a naked person running away from weapons-branded soldiers, clearly intent on killing them. Although I realize that this was more than likely historically accurate and a true picture of what war looked like, my 3-year old doesn't need to see this! My wife later told me that the brochure we received did state that "some scene may be inappropriate for children", but I was thinking that was just war scenes; not firing squads and naked people.At this point, my wife took my daughter out and didn't get to watch the rest of the film. For the purposes of providing a complete review for this attraction though, the film continues to show someone getting his leg cut off (as in, there's much blood and screaming, and you see the leg being moved and thrown into a pile of sheets on the floor), a girl giving birth (nothing graphic, but she's screaming in pain before she's shown her baby, which is surprisingly clean), and a guy convincing a girl to have sex because "we may all be dead in a few hours, so no one cares". A clear PG-13 rating if I've ever seen one, yet nothing regarding this besides the brochure, which I didn't read beforehand! Bottom line: I'm not trying to tell you what to do with your kids, but I've tried to provide enough information for you to make an informed decision. I enjoyed the film, and the history of the fortress. Other than that though, there's not too much to do. The chapel has been reconstructed and houses a nice scale model of the citadel in the times and surrounding area. An interactive computer program at the end of the model tells a little about each area. If you like history and don't have young children, I'd recommend a visit! The problem is, if you pay the €10 to go in, then don't watch the video and take the "tour", you just overpaid for pretty much nothing. There is a medieval jousting/comedy show near the entrance, but it was in French (of course), so we weren't able to take advantage of that. There was also a small area with farm animals that we could go explore as well. My 3-year old did like that, but it wasn't worth the €10 for my wife's entrance fee to take her there. I'd suggest (if anyone from the citadel reads this) that you make a discounted ticket for those who want to enter the fortress and walk around, but not take the underground tour. I know that cuts into profits, but I wouldn't have visited here at all, if I had known what I know now.

I did not go inside or pay admission. I went around moon on a Saturday and parked near a church for free. It was free to park for 2 hours midday on a Saturday.I went up the rocky path and appreciated the view and took pictures and left after getting an espresso at a little place within walking distance in the little town.I combined this as a quick side trip after shopping at the Cora in Forbach and was glad I saw it.

great place. If you ever come here, dont forget to visit the gardens near the citadel, its a must. and its a very must if yuou have kids or your romantic love next to you :)

Interesting place to visit although we felt the entry price was a little high and the English commentary did not work at all locations. However, the history and views make it worthwhile. You probably need to allow at least 2 hours to make the visit worthwhile

For the building and views we would rate this very highly. However, the presentations in the underground part of the Citadel were downright scary for our children and was not suitable at all, hence I have marked this place down. If you have young children (under 10) think very carefully about subjecting them to this part of the visit. It is possible to do without it, but the visit then becomes a bit pricey for what it is.

As we were driving from Strasbourg to Zweibrucken, we decided to take the small scenic road through little French towns. I am so glad that we did and that we decided to pull off the scenic road and stop over in the small town of (tripadvisor online won't allow me to include the name of the town). Originally we pulled into the town to grab a bite to eat but as we entered the town, the beautiful view of the Citadel, which stands guard over the city, came into view and we decided to have a look. We drove up to the top and only thought to get out and enjoy the bird's perch overlooking the town and surrounding hills. Because it was a cloudless beautiful day and quite warm, we walked to the Citadel and decided to pay the 10Euro for entry and a tour. Be forewared: the tour takes awhile so make sure you have a bit of time for the tour inside and for walking around at the top. Also, it is very cool and damp inside so bring a jacket or something to keep yourself warm and comfortable during the tour. Although I am not a history buff or interested in wars, the tour was well worth the money and time. The audio tour, which we received in German and English, was well created and presented. If you want to take pictures inside the fortress, be sure to bring a flash because there is minimal lighting inside. After your eyes adjust, it is light enough that you can see the stone steps in front of you, but the rooms you visit are dimly lit so if you usually take photos with an iphone or your cell, you may not be able to take photos of much on the tour because it is just took dark. If I had to do the tour again, given what I experienced, I would eat first so as not to get hungry during the tour, bring a small jacket (especially if I was going to visit during the warmer months when I am in short-sleeves or summer dresses), bring a normal camera with flash, and wear stable/comfortable shoes (the walkway is stone, uneven at times, and because it's damp inside, there may be spots of water here and there that is not visible because of the low lighting). I hope you enjoy it!

I liked it but I'm a history buff. The Franco-Prussian war is not everyone's cup of tea so this may be too much of a "niche" site for the average consumer. If you have a passion for history, especially this era then take this in. If not, you may not find the visit worth your time. Parking lot at the base of the citadel requires a pretty steep walk up of about 300 meters and would be a problem for those with mobility issues. I have visited this site before, about 11 years ago and was disappointed that the underground section was not accessible.

Entry to the citadel is very reasonable costing 10 euros for entry and an audio tour. The audio tour is good although I wish I understood French as the English (American) translation was dubious at some points. The guide does give you a background understanding of events in the citadel but is probably to long and serious for children. We went on a very cold weekend but I think even in summer I would say take a jacket as you are in the citadel for at least an hour and it is freezing however there is a very reasonably priced cafe for cake and coffee to warm you up.Parking is also free and there was plenty of spaces.