From the outskirts of Paris to the Loire Valley and beyond, France embodies fairytale charm in every small town, expansive vineyard, and, of course, fairytale château. Centuries of history and ever-changing styles have shaped the myriad castles that dot the French landscape, estimated to be around 45,000 in total. From majestic medieval fortresses to sprawling Renaissance palaces, France bursts with dreamy castles and fairytale encounters at seemingly every turn. And while you can’t go wrong with any of the French castles you visit, some stand out more than others. The next time you’re in France, don’t miss the chance to peer back in history and live out your perfect fairytale at these 19 dreamy French castles.
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Table of Contents
- Château de Versailles
- Château de Fontainebleau
- Château de Bonnefontaine
- Château de Chambord
- Mont-Saint-Michel
- Château de Bressuire
- Château Comtal
- Château Royal d’Amboise
- Château du Haut-Koenigsbourg
- Château d’Azay-le-Rideau
- Château de Chenonceau
- Château de Chantilly
- Château de Combourg
- Château de Quéribus
- Château de Grignan
- Château Gaillard
- Château du Clos Vougeot
- Château de Villandry
- Château d’Ussé
Château de Versailles
It’s hard to argue that there’s a castle in France more dreamy than the Palace of Versailles. One of the most ornate and recognizable palaces in the world, no expense was spared in its creation, with every piece painstakingly crafted in France. The exterior alone is enough to earn it a place among the dreamiest castles in France, with its gold-plated gates, crafted from 100,000 gold leaves, and golden rooftops. But the interiors hold even more infinite wonders, from the Hall of Mirrors to the Royal Opera and gardens. And what makes it even better is the history packed within every gold-drenched inch of the palace that takes it from fairytale to real-life masterpiece.
Château de Fontainebleau
If you want French history in a beautiful castle, there’s no better location than where over 900 years of history took place. Called the “True home of kings, house of centuries,” the Château de Fontainebleau is famous for being the home of every French monarch from Louis VII to Napoleon III. Built in classical and Renaissance styles, the palace is an iconic beauty, from the artful exterior to the art-filled interiors. More than 40,000 works of art, including more period furniture than any other castle, make the Fontainebleau not just a walk through a dreamy château, but a walk through time. Wander the sprawling gardens, take a photo on the iconic Horseshoe Staircase, and walk in the footsteps of royalty through one of the most beautiful castles in France.
Château de Bonnefontaine
Built at the end of the 15th century, the Château de Bonnefontaine sits along the banks of the Cousenon River like a castle from a fairytale. While not all châteaux in France resemble the classic idea of a castle, Bonnefontaine certainly boasts a medieval look, with its granite stonework and towers fit for hiding away unsuspecting princesses. It helps that the château is surrounded by expansive gardens, giving the sense that it’s been squirreled away from the rest of the world. Take your time ambling through the park and admiring the castle among the picturesque setting. It’s the perfect place to play-pretend you’re royalty for the day.
Château de Chambord
The hidden hideaway of French kings, Château de Chambord is the largest château in the Loire Valley and arguably the most breathtaking in all of France. Rising up from the Sologne marshlands, the château beautifully blends French Gothic and Renaissance elements to create one of the grandest castles in France. The sight of its towers, turrets, and spires rising into the clouds is awe-inspiring enough, but with a design sprung from the mind of Leonardo da Vinci himself, more beauty awaits inside, from opulent rooms that once housed French royalty to a double helix staircase that is as functional as it is beautiful. If ever there was a place to wander magnificently manicured grounds and stand atop sprawling rooftop terraces while pretending to look out over your kingdom, Château de Chambord is it.
Mont-Saint-Michel
Is there anything dreamier than a castle delicately perched between sea and sky? Upon first appearance, it’s hard to believe Mont-Saint-Michel wasn’t plucked straight from the pages of a storybook and dropped on the shores of Normandy. But perhaps it was plucked from a dream. It’s said that Mont-Saint-Michel came from a dream of the archangel Michael, who bid a bishop to build a sanctuary in his name. Sounds like the perfect tale to begin with “Once upon a time,” right? That divine dream birthed the larger-than-life dream that is Mont-Saint-Michel. Built on a tidal island, it’s a stunning mix of abbey, castle, and fortress that oozes pure fairytale. And for a touch more magic, come high tide, the earth around Mont-Saint-Michel disappears, and the castle appears to float on the sea.
Château de Bressuire
Tucked away in the picturesque town of Bressuire stands the remains of a bygone era. The Château de Bressuire is a medieval fortress in every sense of the word, once protected by three separate enclosures and as many as 38 towers. Much of that protection now lies in ruins, a faint memory of what once was. The once formidable castle now takes on a more romantic air, with crumbling stone covered in ivy. Strolling the grounds will take you back in time, where you can imagine what the fortress looked like in its glory days. In the 19th century, a neo-Gothic château was added to the grounds, creating a stunning juxtaposition of a castle fallen and a residence built among the ashes. It’s a tale of two castles that invites visitors to turn the page and dive into a story centuries in the making.
Château Comtal
Rising up from the fortified city of Carcassonne, the Château Comtal stands out for its simplistic beauty and old-world imagery. Cobblestone streets cut through centuries-old buildings, and at the heart of it all, the blue-hued turrets of Château Comtal watch over the city from above. Originally destroyed during the Cathar Crusade, the castle was restored to its former glory in the 20th century, and it’s in this vein that visitors can now visit the castle and take in a history stretching back thousands of years. In a modern world of mobile phones and Wi-Fi, Château Comtal is a romantic look back in time with staggering architecture and even more breathtaking views.
Château Royal d’Amboise
Another Loire Valley jewel, the Château Royal d’Amboise is a vision of French Renaissance beauty and magic. Originally a medieval fortress, d’Amboise was transformed in the 15th century into what it is today: an enchanting palace perched on a promontory overlooking the Loire River. The combination of earth, water, and sky gives the castle a boundless beauty, especially when viewed from the front. The panoramic views of the Loire are some of the most spellbinding in the entire region, while the inside of the castle brings the sumptuous lives of French royalty to the forefront. It’s a fascinating foray into French history set amid a fairytale setting.
Château du Haut-Koenigsbourg
The Château du Haut-Koenigsbourg is a castle in the sky—quite literally. At an altitude of nearly 2500 feet, the castle towers over the Alsace region like a silent guardian. Its location in the clouds makes it the quintessential fortress, but its lush surroundings and exceptional vistas make it a medieval beauty. A pink sandstone facade gives the castle a softer, more romantic look, and the inside is just as fascinating, from a hexagon-shaped spiral staircase to stained-glass windows and colorful frescoes. Once you walk across the drawbridge, you enter another world and time, one of intrigue, destruction, and rebirth, and a reminder that even the most beautiful things carry scars.
Château d’Azay-le-Rideau
The Château d’Azay-le-Rideau isn’t among the biggest or flashiest castles in France, yet what it lacks in size, it makes up for in decoration and presentation. The Azay is an atmospheric masterpiece. The château itself is a poetic pairing of French Gothic and Italian Renaissance architecture, with rich details and elaborate decorations. The grounds are both ordered and wild, with a carefully structured English garden and an untamed marsh. And the beautiful mirror lake, which appears immemorial but was only added in the 1950s, exudes a timeless quality that perfectly reflects the Azay’s perennial charm.
Château de Chenonceau
The Château de Chenonceau stands out among the castles in France in every way. Called the “Ladies Château,” the castle was built, designed, and furnished by women. Spanning over the Cher River, the idyllic reflection cast in the water is just the beginning of this castle’s enchantment. Manicured gardens appear to “float” on the banks of the river. Inside, the checkered floor of the gallery stretches across the length of the river. And outside, evening brings enchanting nightwalks to the warm summer air. Château de Chenoncea is the embodiment of a fairytale come to life, such that it’s little wonder this is one of the most visited and photographed châteaux in all of France.
Château de Chantilly
Voted as France’s favorite monument of 2025, the Château de Chantilly is an enchanting dream brought to life. Once the home of princes, the Chantilly still possesses all the regal air of its royal past, from the Renaissance and neoclassical stone complex to the ancient paintings lining its walls, the second largest collection in France after the Louvre. Outside, the sprawling grounds encompass romantic gardens and even a living horse museum. It doesn’t get more storybook than taking a horseback ride around the grounds and imagining yourself part of a royal retinue.
Château de Combourg
Nestled among the trees in a little corner of Brittany lies one of the prettiest medieval castles in all of France. Château de Combourg is a symbol of the Romantic movement in France led by François-René de Chateaubriand, who grew up there. Perched on a hill with its imposing towers stretching toward the heavens, it’s not hard to feel transported back to a different place and time, where a lonely boy spent his youth in solitude, haunted by ghosts. Today, the castle brims with memories, legends, and beauty. Stretch your legs in the 25-hectare park, follow in Chateaubriand’s footsteps throughout the château, and sit down with a good book and a view of the castle. Combourg’s charms are guaranteed to sweep you off your feet.
Château de Quéribus
A famous “Cathar” castle of France’s southern region, the Château de Quéribus sits crowned atop a rocky promontory. The castle almost appears to be one with the craggy cliff, rising up out of the rock with only its smooth walls and hard angles denoting it as something man-made. From the rugged ramparts, visitors can look out over a sprawling landscape that includes views of the Corbières mountains. The combination of ruin and restoration gives the castle an ethereal presence, a lone sentinel standing guard over a land no longer at war. Among the many Cathar castles in France, this one stands out as a particularly enchanting piece of history.
Château de Grignan
From a fortified fortress to a Renaissance residence, Château de Grignan is a stunning royal palace seated atop a rocky headland. The castle dominates the skyline of Grignan like a king on his throne, looking the part of both a mysterious Gothic castle and a dazzling noble house. Built around the 11th century, it wasn’t until the Renaissance of the 15th century that a softer touch was added; the medieval fortress became a pleasurable playhouse replete with sprawling terraces and an embellished Renaissance facade. When viewed from the lavender fields below, the castle appears like something from a dream, hazy and sweet-smelling and all the more beautiful for the turbulent history it represents.
Château Gaillard
Once the castle of King Richard the Lionheart, the Château Gaillard sits atop a hill overlooking the meandering Seine. Upon its completion, it’s said King Richard exclaimed, “How beautiful she is.” And how beautiful she was. Built in less than two years, Château Gaillard was an impressively fortified castle, with walls towering 30 feet high and a number of defenses designed to repel invaders. Only the castle’s ruins remain now, but it’s easy to imagine just how majestic the castle was, overlooking the Seine Valley long ago. The partially intact towers and remaining walls are immense in size and hauntingly beautiful, especially at sunrise. Covered in a light mist of fog, the castle appears like a ghost of itself, solemnly standing guard over what remains of its own wreckage.
Château du Clos Vougeot
Tucked away in the heart of Burgundy, Château du Clos Vougeot is no mere château. It’s one of the finest vineyards in Burgundy. Originally, this beautiful sprawl of land was a wine farm tended by monks. It wasn’t until later, in the 16th century, that the Renaissance-style château was added. Since then, it’s become an icon of both the superb wine and fairytale castles that France is so famous for. As with most vineyards, the view is idyllic in and of itself, but with the château seated at its crown, it becomes spellbinding. Whether you come for the wine, the vines, or the fairytale castle, there’s no question that there’s magic in every sight, step, and sip.
Château de Villandry
The Château de Villandry is an avant-garde masterpiece and a true work of art, from the living gardens to the living quarters. The château possesses the quintessential features of a French country house—beautiful slate roofs and turreted towers—but it’s the gardens, created in the 1900s, that take this fairytale from sweet to downright dreamy. Designed in the Renaissance style, the gardens cradle the castle in an enchanting embrace of vivid color and lovely scents. Spanning nearly two dozen acres, the gardens are carefully crafted and lovingly preserved, featuring ponds, fountains, flowers, and even vegetables. From the scenic grounds to the picturesque castle, a walk through Villandry feels like a walk through a living, breathing fairytale.
Château d’Ussé
A list of the most beautiful and fairytale-like castles in France wouldn’t be complete without the castle said to have inspired one of the greatest fairytales of them all: Sleeping Beauty. With its gleaming white tufa facade, turret-crowned towers, and stunning amalgamation of architectural styles, Château d’Ussé cuts a striking and enchanting silhouette. Paired with its picturesque location, a verdant oasis between the Loire and Indre rivers, and its charming village and bewitching gardens, the castle’s elegant beauty is on full display before one even takes the first step across the enchanting bridge. From there, it’s all too easy to fall into the same dreamy fairytale that inspired a literary legend and live out your own storybook visit.
