Travel Around The Clock

The Chateau de Puyguilhem is located in the northern part of the Dordogne department, near the town of Villars (north-east of Brantome and west of Saint-Jean-de-Cole). The castle is set in an enchanting landscape, with an open valley in front and oak woods, typical of the Perigord region, in the back. Unfortunately, the lake that was once in the valley below the castle, no longer exists, but the view remains very picturesque. Chateau de Puyguilhem Chateau de Puyguilhem It was Pierre Mondot de la Marthonie , a wealthy magistrate from the region and first president of the Parliament of Paris, that acquired the stronghold of Puyguilhem, around 1510. The house was to be the family's second home, as well as a hunting lodge. Thus, he transformed it into a Renaissance residence by deploying a decor of great finesse on popular themes. Abandoned and looted in the 19th century, at the beginning of the 20th century the castle began to fall into ruins. It was then acquired by the State in 19...

If every serious fairytale has a castle, then France is the quintessential fairytale country, considering the ridiculous amount of Chateaux in the country. And if a lack of knowledge had made us think that they were merely located on the Loire banks or used as accommodations by the wealthy wine producers of Bordeaux, a 2 weeks trip on the road in Southern France proved us completely wrong. We encountered plenty of castles of various ages and architectural styles; some of them were closed as December is low season but we still managed to visit most of them and were lucky enough to have guides all by ourselves giving us private tours! We started form the Perigord Vert and the Chateau de Bourdeilles , which is itself a double castle, including a medieval building and a Renaissance one, both very well preserved and accessible for a €7 per head. Chateau de Bourdeilles The medieval part is of course much more austere, while the Renaissance building has still plenty of decoration, furnish...