Which Dordogne chateaux?
 

OK, we're leaving tomorrow. Thanks to everyone for their help.

Everything is fairly well planned at this point...so here's one last question. Among these 4 chateaux -- Biron, Les Milandes, Montfort, Fenelon -- which is most worthy of touring and seeing from the inside (and not just seeing/shooting from the outside)?

Castelnaud is already a given. So, what say you?

This is not really an answer to your question, "go family"... but to others drawn to this question, I'll put in a plug (again) for www.air-chateaux.com

We loved our tour with them.

Best wishes,

Rex

mr go:

Are those the only ones you're considering? I ask because it's a rather obscure (though good) selection.

What about Beynac?

Les Milandes is a totally different story from the others. If you're into Josephine Baker and falcons, it's a good one. It's 19th-century and thus absolutely nothing like the Hundred Years War castles.

The other three you mention are certainly worth visiting, but if you happen to be an architecture buff you'll see right away how they all suffer from successive renovations over the centuries that have left them untrue to their original purposes.

It depends on what you're looking for -architecture, beautiful settings, interior furnishings....I'd suggest you consider Fayrac and Lanquais as well.

And the Château de Commarque is in restoration now, much as Castelnaud has been over the last 10 years. They're doing a good job and it's interesting to see their progress.

And then there's the Château de l'Herm, that mysterious ruin...and the beautiful Château de Losse...and the the Puy Robert, with its lady ghost....

Unless you have some really specific interests, they're all good..

Thanks for your timely responses.

Rex:
I am 100% behind your suggestion. But I fear that getting Ms. Go into a small prop plane or hot-air balloon is going to be difficult, at best. I'll keep working on her, playing up the "photo-op" benefits". Wish me luck.

St. Cirq:
Thanks again for all of your first-hand advice, in this and other threads. Yes, those 4 I enumerated are less than obvious choices. But as you'll recall, we are basing our stay in Daglan, and I was considering proximity (Biron notwithstanding).

Beynac looks very similar to Castelnaud, but I guess there's nothing wrong with that! And I love the photos I've seen of Lanquais, so I'll add that one to the overall list as well (plus Fayrac, Puy Robert, etc.).

Bottom line: there are plenty to choose from. I'll make it a "game day" decision when we happen to be in the neighborhood and in a chateau-exploring mood.

The limo comes at 2:00 pm. I've done as much preparation as I'm going to. Thanks to all...we'll be sure to post field reports in a few days!

mr go:

Beynac is nothing like Castelnaud, though of course they were opposing castles. Castelnaud is now a sort of museum, devoted to medieval warfare. Check out the movie on how to sack a castle - fabulous! And if you're lucky, they'll be giving catapult demonstrations.

And I assume you know that all the castles on the north side of the Dordogne were French and those on the south side British, so you get some obvious differences there.

Based in Daglan, I assume you won't miss a visit to Monpazier. If you have the opportunity, have a meal at La Bastide.

Bon voyage!

Fayrac and Montfort are not castles you can tour, being privately owned and occupied, but you can certainly drive by and have a gander from the outside. Beynac should not be discarded from the list because it's too much like Castelnaud; in fact, its tour is much more about the castle and its history, whereas Castelnaud is all about the medieval armaments it now displays in a fun and well-designed museum format.

In the context of another question today, I'm curious what you ended up doing, Mssr/Mme Go...

Rex - you can find all in our trip report...

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34823680

But the short answer is: Beynac, Castelnaud, les Milandes, and Marqueyssac (gardens only). Mr_go tried, but we did not do the Air Chateaux. So many things to do, so little time.

Rex: When my LW says that I "tried," she means that I tried to get her up in one of those things...but no dice!

And if you like lots of details and photos in your trip reports, you can catch the full flavor at onelittleworld.com. Cheers!

I understood what "he tried" meant...

... and appreciated the link to your trip report.