Château de Castelnaud tickets and 2026 prices
The castle’s own 2026 tariff
The Château de Castelnaud is privately run, within the Kléber Rossillon group, and it publishes its rates itself. The figures below are that document, reproduced so the rest of this page can be read against it. They are the castle’s, not this site’s, and the castle’s own site is where to check them before you travel. They are the only exact figures printed anywhere on chateaudecastelnaud.com.
| Ticket | Price | Who |
|---|---|---|
| Adult | €13.60 | Individual visitor |
| Young person | €6.80 | 10 to 17 years |
| Child | Free | Under 10 |
| Combined, adult | €24.50 | With Marqueyssac, 7 Feb to 11 Nov 2026 |
| Combined, 10 to 17 | €12.30 | With Marqueyssac, 7 Feb to 11 Nov 2026 |
| Amis de Castelnaud | €30.00 | Annual pass |
| Treasure-hunt booklet | €2.90 | Year-round, English version available |
Entry is bought at the castle or on castelnaud.com. There is no slot to hold and none to miss, on any day of the year, which is what makes the castle the easy half of a Dordogne day to plan and the valley around it the half worth pinning down early.
What the ticket covers
The fortress and the Musée de la guerre au Moyen Âge together, walked at your own pace. Open to visitors: the barbican, the upper and lower baileys, the curtain wall, the artillery tower, the living quarters with their wall painting of the Nine Worthies, the weapons room, the kitchen, the forge, the keep and the medieval garden. The museum holds more than 250 authentic weapons and pieces of armour from across Europe, on the castle’s own count; French Wikipedia puts it nearer 300 pieces from the 13th to the 17th century and calls it the second collection of its kind in France after the Musée de l’Armée. Six videos cover construction, siege warfare, equipment and the restoration, and a sound-and-light model shows the siege of 1442 ending with the English leaving. Room by room, in the order you meet them.
There is no audio guide here. A printed tour booklet is free at the entrance in 12 languages and in Braille, and a games booklet for ages 7 to 12 is free while stocks last. The treasure hunt on the tariff above, “sur les traces du trésor de Branchebrume”, runs all year, with an English version; in July and August it runs on Saturdays only. Castelnaud with children goes through the knights’ school, the costume try-ons and the rest.
The Marqueyssac combination
the Jardins de Marqueyssac are the founding site of the same group, opened in 1995, about 200,000 visitors a year, with a belvedere over the valley reachable by electric buggy. The combined ticket, on sale from 7 February to 11 November 2026 at the rates in the table, is the reason the two are usually paired: one fortress, one hanging garden, both looking down at the same stretch of river. The Château des Milandes, built in 1489 by the Caumont lords of Castelnaud and later Joséphine Baker’s house, is independently run and has no combined ticket with Castelnaud. How the three fit into one trip.
The castle’s seasonal hours are published as images rather than text, so this site uses the grid the departmental tourist board and an official brochure both give, and says whose it is: broadly 10:00 to 19:00 in spring, 09:00 to 20:00 in July and August, shorter mornings and afternoons in deep winter. Check the castle’s own page on the day before you build a plan on it. Season by season.
What can be booked ahead around the castle
Six listings on the booking platform work around Castelnaud, and none of them carries castle admission: the Castelnaud entry ticket was delisted, and the platform’s page for this location now returns canoe rentals and nothing else. That is worth knowing before you go looking for one, and it also settles the question of what is worth reserving. The parts of a Dordogne day that fill up are the water, the air and the seats in a van, and all three are bookable with free cancellation up to 24 hours before.
The three-hour canoe rental from Vitrac, around twenty-nine euros and rated 4.7 from more than 270 ratings, is the one that passes directly beneath these walls; the balloon from Cénac takes the same valley from the air, in French; the half-day van from Sarlat does Beynac village, a gabarre and Domme. All six, sorted by the kind of day you have.
Most reviewsFrom Vitrac: Dordogne River Canoe Rental
Over the valleyDordogne: Hot Air Balloon Flight in the Valley of the Châteaux
Half dayFrom Sarlat: Beynac & Domme Tour & Dordogne Boat Ride
Getting to the gate
The municipal car park above the castle is paid and a three-minute walk from the gate; the car park along the Dordogne is free and a fifteen-minute walk, in the castle’s own wording. Motorway exits are Souillac on the A20 and Sarlat-la-Canéda on the A89, and in July and August line 338 runs Sarlat to Castelnaud. The castle states that its layout and many narrow staircases make the museum difficult for visitors with reduced mobility, though the viewpoint and the barbican are accessible, and it offers a free 360° virtual visit instead; the site carries the Tourisme & Handicap label. A pram is very difficult inside and is best left at the entrance or at the foot of the artillery tower. Where to park, and what the walk up is like.
Frequently asked questions
How much is entry to the Château de Castelnaud in 2026?
The castle publishes its own tariff, reproduced in the table above: an adult rate, a lower rate for 10 to 17 year olds, free entry under 10, a combined ticket with the Jardins de Marqueyssac between 7 February and 11 November, an annual pass and a treasure-hunt booklet. Entry is bought at the castle or on castelnaud.com.
Can I book Castelnaud tickets online?
Booking ahead in this valley buys the parts of the day that fill up: the canoe under the walls, the balloon over it, a seat in a van from Sarlat, or an interior at Beynac. The castle’s own entry is not part of that catalogue — it is sold by the castle itself, every day of the year, with no timed slot. The six listings that do work around it.
Is there a combined ticket with Marqueyssac?
Yes, between 7 February and 11 November 2026, at the adult and 10-to-17 rates in the tariff table above. Both sites belong to the same group and look down at the same stretch of the Dordogne, which is why they are usually done together. There is no combined ticket with the Château des Milandes. How they fit together.
Is there an audio guide at Castelnaud?
No. A printed tour booklet is free at the entrance, in 12 languages and in Braille, and a children’s games booklet is free for ages 7 to 12 while stocks last. Six videos and a sound-and-light model of the 1442 siege carry the rest of the commentary. What the hour inside covers.
Do children pay at the Château de Castelnaud?
Under-tens go free and 10 to 17 year olds pay the reduced rate in the tariff above. The treasure-hunt booklet is a small extra, the games booklet is free, and the knights’ school runs in the spring and autumn holidays for ages 5 to 14. A pram is very difficult inside. Castelnaud with children.