The castle

of Pierrefonds

The exceptional castle restored by Viollet le Duc

The castle of Pierrefonds

A castle reinvented. Built at the end of the 14th century by Duke Louis of Orleans, the castle was dismantled in the 17th century and was in a state of ruin when Napoleon III decided to entrust its reconstruction to the architect Eugène Viollet-le-Duc, who put his architectural designs into practice to make it an ideal castle as it would have existed in the Middle Ages.

Getting there

We’re not going to lie to you, this site is incredible. As soon as you arrive in the city, you feel this special atmosphere that reigns around the exceptional sites.

Built on the edge of the Compiègne forest, the impressive Pierrefonds castle dominates the village, its towers gradually revealed to the view of the visitors, emerging majestically from the forest!”

Did you know that this castle has nothing of the original building? Indeed, the fortress will be besieged in 1617 by Louis XIII and then dismantled. It was not until 1850 that the ruins were visited by President Louis-Napoleon Bonaparte, who, seduced by the place, asked the architect Viollet-le-Duc to restore them in 1857 for the result we know today.

Still not satiated? Head for the Retz forest and the Château de Montgobert for the last steps of your journey!