Caen Chateau, ramparts and bastions

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Château de Caen

Caen


Looming above the centre of the city, Caen’s magnificent castle walls – massive battlements overlooking a now dry moat – were established by William the Conqueror, Duke of Normandy, in 1060. Visitors can walk around the ramparts and visit the 12th-century Église St-Georges, which holds an information centre with a diorama of the castle, and the Échiquier, which dates from about 1100 and is one of the oldest civic buildings in Normandy. The castle affords splendid visuals over the town at sunset.

The Jardin des Simples is a garden of medicinal and aromatic herbs cultivated during the Middle Ages, some of them poisonous. There are also two worthwhile museums in the castle grounds, and a good restaurant-cafe. The mighty 12th-century donjon (keep) only survives today as vestiges and foundations. Tours of the castle are provided by the tourist office during summer, but only in French.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Caen attractions

1. Église St-Georges

0.05 MILES

Doubling as a very useful tourist information centre, this medieval church within the Château de Caen has gorgeous stained-glass works as well as several…

2. Maison des Quatrans

0.05 MILES

The 15th-century Maison des Quatrans is one of only two prewar buildings left in the city centre near Château de Guillaume le Conquérant, though it lost a…

3. Jardin des Simples

0.06 MILES

The Jardin des Simples is a garden of medicinal and aromatic herbs cultivated during the Middle Ages, some of them poisonous.

4. Musée des Beaux-Arts

0.07 MILES

This excellent and well-curated museum takes you on a tour through the history of Western art from the 15th to 21st centuries, including works depicting…

5. Musée de Normandie

0.08 MILES

A handy primer for fathoming the character of the region, this two-part museum situated within the former Logis des Gouverneurs in the Château de Caen…

6. Église St-Pierre

0.1 MILES

Across from the Château de Caen, the soaring Église St-Pierre was built between the 13th and 16th centuries and was being renovated at the time of writing.

7. Échiquier

0.13 MILES

Inside the Château de Caen, the Échiquier (more fully the Salle de l’Échiquier) – or the Exchequer – is a venerable building dating from the 12th century.

8. Donjon

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The castle's vast 12th-century donjon (keep) was pretty much destroyed after the French Revolution in the late 18th century, so little remains today…