chateau of chateaudun

Perched over the river this impressive chateau perhaps disappoints a little inside as it is in the main unfurnished. However it is very reasonably priced and the tapestry display is good. Staff are friendly but there didn't seem to be any English speaking tours at this time of the year in fact there were very few tourists altogether. Maybe in the summer it is different . The Information panels were in French and English and there was an English language leaflet

It is a lovely castle, not your typical one perched on a hill but rather one you could have imagined people living in. I wish there were more English explanations. Great for photography.

Chateaudun is a small town with two main attractions - the Grottes at the bottom of the cliff and the castle at the top. Neither is especially close to the station or the vaguely termed 'Halte Routiere' (actually by the Piscine / swimming pool) for the bus from Chartres (Transbeauce route 3 or fare 3.55 euros each way for the hour long journey - the TER service only stops at the Gare). The visit to the castle costs 7.50 euros (there is a discount if you also visit the Grottes) and comes in two parts so it is important to time your arrival to coincide with the guided tours which take place at various times morning and afternoon depending on the season (this is not obvious from the official website but is stated on the town's website). In summer there are afternoon tours at 3 and 4.30. The first part of the tour (10 mins) is a general introduction to the castle before going into the basement of the donjon (20 mins) - if you are a bit late you can still join the tour up to this point. After this they take you into the upper storey of the chapel and from that point you are locked in for the next 45 mins so cannot either join or leave the tour after this. The tour is entirely in French and there are no notes in English. Depending on your fluency you will find this either quite interesting or over long. Still, you do get to see the top of the donjon, some good views over the town and river, the rooms where the soldiers lived and the corridors built into the walls. The rest of the castle you view on your own - there is quite a bit to see both inside and out. There are terraces at the rear and side with good views over the valley and a small and not especially colourful medieval garden. Inside there are rooms on several levels, some are furnished, others empty. It is not a sumptuously decorated chateau but nevertheless it is not just a bare shell. If you have time walk down the steep flight of steps to view the castle from the bridge. The sheer scale of it is bound to impress.

I visited this château early on a rainy morning. At 11am I took the tour of the keep, which was the oldest, more Medieval part. The tour was in French and it was very informative, lasting about 1 hour, I'm not sure if they do it in English too. Afterwards I visited the newer part of the château which is more in the Renaissance style. There's a collection of tapestries and some furniture, other than that, the rooms are almost empty but if you have good imagination that shouldn't be a problem, the château itself is worth the visit.If you're in the area of Chartres, the town of Châteaudun is about 30 minutes away by bus. Is a small town but you can spend 3-4 hours visiting the Château and maybe having lunch in one of the restaurants near by or visit the caves. There's a direct train to and from Paris (Austerlitz) it takes about 1:30 hours.

From outside it looks more impressive than many of 3/3 rated castles in the Loire area. We were on the way to Chartres, therefore we stopped here just for a walk around the castle rock. And it was worth that stop.

Empty rooms. This castle was neglected for centuries and some of it cannot be visited. Dunois is a fascinating character (I can't say what his French title was because this site regards the expression as profane!! - an idiotic spell check in the circumstances since that was what he was always known as). There is a lot of what I would describe as sci-fi tat in the cellars, but the children who were visiting seemed to like it. Most of the explanations are in French, but the French are our neighbours and the language really isn't difficult. There is a basic leaflet in English which comes free with the entrance ticket. Most of the rooms are empty, but this is better than having them filled with items which don't belong there, and the herb garden is wonderful.

During a short trip from Paris to the Loire Valley, this was the last stop on my way back, after visiting some other "better rated chateaus". In my opinion, if you visit a castle, in some way you expect and imagine how was life in the past. Considering that, I think that a short visit to this castle is really worth your time. The staff there, at least the lady who was there that day was extremely friendly and explained me the legend of the place, and how it was built in different periods of time. I understand that this is a historic place under public ownership and administration, so I think it deserve better, because it feels like it is in ruins, abandoned, and about to colapse in any given moment.

This is a rather dilapidated shell of a former castle that was built in different stages. The rooms are mostly empty, but you can get some idea of there former glory. There are tapestries, these are not original and are very faded. It was rather annoying that english explanations was only given in a few of the rooms.I would not make a detour to visit this, but worth a look if passing through the town.

An interesting castle, even if it is not that famous. It is fairly empty though, save for a collection of tapestries. Nice medieval garden. There is a guided tour in French.

The great tower of Chateaudun castle was built in the twelfth century by Thibaud V, count of Blois. It is the sole surviving part of a larger structure.In 1439 Chateaudun castle is acquired by Jean Dunois. He has the great tower roofed (1450) and orders the construction of the holy chapel (1451) and the Dunois wing (1459) in flamboyant style.The descendants of Dunois build the Longeville wing (completed in 1518) with renaissance elements.After the extinction of the Longueville family in 1694 the castle is abandoned.During an outstanding (free) guided tour (lasting about one hour) the history of the site is explained and the interior of the great tower and the upper chapel can be admired.The great tower (31 m in height) is an outstanding example of medieval military architecture. Its original entrance (nowadays connecting with the upper chapel) is located 10m above ground level and was accessible from a (long gone) adjacent building via a removable bridge. The great tower consists of a storage room (only accessible from the first floor), a floor for the soldiers with cooking and toilet facilities, a floor for the lord and a parapet walk (not accessible). Most of the roof beams are original !The Dunois wing and Longueville wing have very picturesque façades with staircase towers. Both are partly accessible but except for a room with information about the life of Jean Dunois and a small exhibition of tapestries all rooms are unfurnished. Their interest is further limited by the fact that the layout and use of some were altered throughout the ages.A guidebook is available at the castle shop. You can buy it as a souvenir but be warned that the walkthrough inside is rather confusing and unpractical because it jumps floors all the time instead of commenting the rooms per floor in walking order.

This is a nice castle with a less than helpful staff. Built in three distinct periods, the styles are easy to compare and contrast. It is far from the most attractive castle we have seen, but still worth a trip if you are in the area. The use of many of the rooms is clear from the furnishings and signage. With or without a guide, a tour of Chateaudun is instructive. We especially enjoyed the kitchen garden, which was one of the finest we have ever seen. I must disagree with the enthusiasm of the other reviewers. It was a lovely afternoon that we spent there, but Chateaudun is certainly not in a class of the true four and five point castles.

We were in France for a month touring the area in our camper and this was one of our highlights, Chateaudun was where we chose to spend the most number of days due to the beautiful setting and relaxed atmosphere. The Chateau is a imposing building sitting on the hill, you can see the old dungeons built into the hillside from the road - poor souls who got imprisoned in them! Being 25 I got in free under the historic monument system (we should have similar in the UK to attract young people to visit historical attractions). My partner had to pay full admission but the prices are good value. We chose to go into the old tower which involved needing to go on a guided tour, these tours are only if French but the guide was kind enough to tell us the most notable parts in English; my GCSE French seemed to have disappeared from my memory! The staircases are particularly interesting as are the dungeons, there is edgings on the walls from many hundreds of year ago (they have been examined so its not a modern day person having a laugh and writing 1350). Very nice herb gardens and gift shop also. We had a wonderful half day exploring the chateau and whilst we saw many more famous ones on our trip this was a favourite.

Spiral staircase made of fossils! Great peek into middle age history.

Le château est simple et très beaux mais les pièces sont assez vide, la visite guidé de la tour est a faire on y apprends pas mal d'infos sur l'histoire de ce château et de cette fameuse tour.

Un château simple mais une histoire riche, loin de la Loire, où l'on découvre des jardins en terrasse avec un panorama et un relief surprenant après avoir traversé des km de champs.