Castelnaud or Beynac: which castle to visit
Making a day of it?The castle's own ticket is bought at the gate, so what is worth booking ahead is the rest of the day: the river under the walls, the valley from the air, a guided run out from Sarlat, or the rival castle across the water. Every option cancels free up to 24 hours before.
Check availabilitySide by side
| Château de Castelnaud | Château de Beynac | |
|---|---|---|
| Condition | Restored ruin, rebuilt from the 1960s | Preserved and furnished throughout |
| What fills it | A medieval-warfare museum, 250+ weapons | 17th-century apartments, painted ceilings, a 13th-century kitchen |
| Set pieces | Siege engines on the bastion, a trebuchet fired daily in season | 15th-century frescoes, the Richard the Lionheart exhibition |
| In the Hundred Years War | Held for the English | Held for the French crown |
| Time inside | About an hour | About an hour |
| Visitors a year | Around a quarter of a million | 125,000 in 2022 |
| Booking ahead | Sold by the castle, every day of the year | Entry ticket bookable in advance |
| Suits | Anyone who wants to know how a castle was attacked | Anyone who wants to know how one was lived in |
The legend, and what the sources actually support
The story everyone arrives with is two garrisons trading fire across the river. It is a good story and it is not documented. What the record does support is the frontier: the Dordogne divided the French crown’s lands from English Guyenne, Castelnaud held for the English and Beynac for the French, and English Wikipedia describes Castelnaud as built as a rival stronghold to Beynac across the waterway. No battle between the two castles is documented, and no source gives a distance between them. The siege that did happen at Castelnaud, in 1442, was ordered by Charles VII and ended in a negotiated surrender rather than an assault from the far bank. What the three weeks actually involved.
Two castles, two sides of one war, and not a single documented shot fired between them.
If you only have time for one
Pick on what you want to understand. Castelnaud answers how a castle was attacked: the engines on the bastion in their attack positions, the collection of arms and armour, the firing demonstration, the light-and-sound model of its own defeat. Beynac answers how a castle was lived in: furnished rooms, painted ceilings, a kitchen with its fittings. Families with children who want siege engines go to Castelnaud. Visitors who find empty rooms unsatisfying go to Beynac. What is in the Castelnaud collection.
Doing both, which is what most people do
Each interior is about an hour and they are in sight of each other, so a day holds them both with lunch in between. The mechanics differ, though. Castelnaud sells its own entry, at the gate and on its own site, every day of the year and with no slot to hold. Beynac’s entry ticket is the one castle interior in this valley that can be booked ahead — self-guided, about an hour, valid one day from first use, under-10s free, dogs on a lead allowed, and not suitable for visitors with reduced mobility. What its thirteen reviewers say.
The view is part of the argument. From Beynac’s terrace you look straight at Castelnaud, and from Castelnaud’s walls you look straight back — which makes the second castle of the day a different experience from the first, whichever order you take them in. Fitting both into a day.
Book the castle you cannot buy at the gate on the day
Entry to the Château de Beynac with the Richard the Lionheart and Eleanor of Aquitaine exhibition and the bookshop: self-guided, about an hour, valid one day from first use. Thirteen ratings so far, at 4.4. From around seventeen euros, free cancellation up to 24 hours before.
Frequently asked questions
Which is better, Castelnaud or Beynac?
Neither, in the useful sense: Castelnaud is a restored ruin with a medieval-warfare museum and siege engines, Beynac a preserved and furnished fortress. Pick by whether you want to understand attacking a castle or living in one. What Castelnaud holds.
Did Castelnaud and Beynac ever fight each other?
No battle between the two is documented. They were on opposite sides of the Hundred Years War frontier — Castelnaud English, Beynac French — but the picture of two garrisons trading fire across the river is legend. The documented history.
Can you visit both Castelnaud and Beynac in one day?
Easily. Each interior takes about an hour and they face each other across the Dordogne. How the day fits together.
Do you need to book Beynac in advance?
A booking fixes the date, includes the Richard the Lionheart exhibition and cancels free up to 24 hours before. Castelnaud, by contrast, sells its own entry at the gate every day. Beynac’s ticket is the one castle interior here you can hold. The reviews.