The word chateau covers far more than fairytale castles. Here is what it means and what to look for.
Wikipedia describes a chateau as a manor house, a palace or the residence of the lord of the manor, or a fine country house of the nobility or gentry, with or without fortifications. In French the word covers a medieval fortress, a Renaissance palace and a fine 19th-century country house. A fortified one is a château fort. Most French chateaux are palaces or country houses, not castles.
We could not find a nationwide total in the sources we read. Wikipedia counts more than 300 chateaux in the Loire Valley, built between the 10th and 20th centuries. For the Dordogne it gives more than 1,500 castles and says the nobility built more than 1,200 chateaux, manors and country houses in the late 15th and early 16th centuries, while France.fr says thousands. The figure depends on what you count.
A chateau hotel is a hotel in a chateau or chateau-style building. We could not find a tourism board or official source that defines the term or lists what such hotels offer, so we do not generalise. Rooms, dining, grounds and prices vary hotel by hotel, so read each hotel’s own description and check what is included before you book.
Several associations group independent hotels. Wikipedia describes Relais & Châteaux as a not-for-profit association of individually owned and operated luxury hotels and restaurants, founded in 1954 in France as Relais de Campagne and later merged with Châteaux-Hôtels. It gives 580 members in 65 countries as of April 2023, a figure that will have changed. We mention it as an example only, and this site has no connection with it.
Some chateaux describe their rooms as chambres d’hôtes, a legal term. Service-Public says it means a furnished room in the host’s home let to tourists for one or more nights, with a maximum of 5 rooms and 15 guests at once. Breakfast must be included in the nightly price and served by the host in person, and guests must be welcomed in person.
Our regional guides cover six areas, from the Loire to Normandy, with the heritage chateaux you can visit. See getting married in a chateau and planning your trip for practical rules.
Wikipedia describes a chateau as a manor house, palace or fine country house of the nobility or gentry, with or without fortifications. In French the word covers a medieval fortress, a Renaissance palace and a fine 19th-century country house.
Mostly not. Wikipedia says most French chateaux are palaces or country houses rather than castles. A fortified one is called a château fort.
We could not find a nationwide total. Wikipedia counts more than 300 in the Loire Valley and says the Dordogne has more than 1,500 castles, while France.fr says thousands. Counts depend on the definition.
Wikipedia describes it as a not-for-profit association of individually owned and operated luxury hotels and restaurants, founded in France in 1954. We mention it only as an example of an existing collection. This site is not connected to it.
Facts on this site come from gov.uk, Atout France, regional tourism boards, UNESCO and the operators named, each listed at the foot of the page. Check dates, prices and entry rules with the provider before you book.