Visiting Chateau de Beynac in France - a historic gem

Writer: Helena Bergström

If you like historical places and charming alleys, like out of a fairy tale, then we highly recommend visiting Chateau de Beynac in France. This is a historically interesting place with a high cosiness factor!

Chateau de Beynac in France

The Chateau de Beynac is a French castle set dramatically and beautifully on a hill overlooking the Dordogne River. The castle is one of the best preserved in the region, and the site also offers extremely picturesque alleyways and pleasant restaurants.

Chateau de Beynac is located approximately 160 kilometres east of Bordeaux, in the south-west of France.

Chateau de Beynac - once a defence against England

The Chateau de Beynac was built in the 12th century by the Barons of Beynac to close off the valley and deter attacks from the other side. To achieve this, they built both high walls and double moats.

At the time of the Hundred Years' War (1337-1453), the fortress of Beynac was in French hands, and the Dordogne River formed the border with England. Across the river, the Château de Castelnaud was held by the English, and the region was the scene of a series of dramatic battles.

To visit Chateau de Beynac

Today, the Chateau de Beynac is a peaceful place, and the visitors are tourists. There is a car park in the upper part of the resort and several car parks in the lower part. If you are travelling with a motorhome, only the lower part of the resort is available, where there is a specific parking area for motorhomes.

From the car park, it takes just a few minutes to walk to the start of the mountain, and from there the walk goes uphill.

After a while you reach the entrance to the castle. If you want to take a peek inside, you can buy a ticket and, as we understand it, you can see sumptuous tapestries and other historical artefacts.

On this visit we were a bit tired and chose to visit the castle only from the outside.

Although we only visited the castle from the outside, we were impressed: the medieval feel, the view... wow!

On the way down we chose a different route and this one was if possible even more picturesque. Incredibly charming indeed!

Restaurants and cafés

There are plenty of restaurants and cafés at Chateau de Beynac, both at the top and at the bottom. We chose to have a beer at one of the places down by the river.

Where can you stay or park your motorhome?

There are several hotels located right by the castle. There are also a small number of campsites and caravan parks nearby. We recommend using the apps 'Camper Contact' (campsites and caravan parks), 'Park4Night' (free campsites) or 'Camping-Car Park' (French car parks).

More to see and do in the neighbourhood

We could see people enjoying themselves on the Dordogne river, with all kinds of boat trips. We can also recommend a visit to the exciting cave Padirac Abyss and in the holy city Rocamadour. In addition, you may want to get to the wine city of Bordeaux and the medieval the village of Saint-Emilion.

Have you visited Chateau de Beynac?

Have you visited Chateau de Beynac? Do you like to check out castles and fortresses? Maybe you've seen some other cool historical place in Southern Europe? Please tell us!