Château de Falaise Castle

Address: Château de Falaise, Place Guillaume le Conquérant, 14700 Falaise, France

Website: http://www.chateau-falaise.fr/

Hours: Apr-Sep 10:00am-6:00pm, Oct-Mar 10:00am-5:00pm

Admission: €6-€8 (adult admission to castle museum)

Château de Falaise is a medieval fortress overlooking the town of Falaise in Normandy, closely associated with William the Conqueror and the dukes of Normandy. Its stone keep and defensive walls make it one of the region’s principal medieval monuments.

The principal features are the tall central keep and the surrounding curtain walls that form a compact defensive complex; exhibition rooms interpret the life of William the Conqueror and Normandy’s medieval history. Walkways around the battlements and the top of the keep provide panoramic views over the town and the patchwork agricultural landscape of Calvados.

The castle grew up in the medieval period as the seat of the local ducal power in Normandy and is linked in documentary and local tradition to William the Conqueror (born early 11th century). It was altered and repaired across the later Middle Ages and then conserved and restored in the modern era as a historic monument and museum site.

Perched on a hill above the town of Falaise in the Calvados department of Normandy, the château dominates the local townscape and surrounding bocage countryside, within easy driving distance south of the regional city of Caen.

• William the Conqueror association: Associated with William the Conqueror - traditionally identified as his birthplace - and illustrated throughout the site with displays about his life and the Duchy of Normandy.
• Viewpoint: Climbing the keep gives extensive views over the town of Falaise and the surrounding Norman bocage countryside, useful for orientation and photography.

What to See#

• Keep and museum: A dominant stone keep and surrounding fortified enceinte with curtain walls form the main monument; the site includes exhibition rooms about William the Conqueror and medieval Normandy.

Falaise is accessible by regional bus from Caen and Lisieux; by car it lies on the D511 and is about 40 km southeast of Caen. The château is a short walk from the town centre.

• Don't miss the room dedicated to William the Conqueror - his birthplace is associated with Falaise and the castle deliberately foregrounds that history.
• The defensive walkways give excellent views of the surrounding Norman countryside; bring a windproof jacket.