64 Old Ruins to Explore in France

The castle of Peyrepertuse is a so- called "Cathar" castle located in the department of Aude in the Occitanie region. It sits on a limestone ridge at an altitude of nearly 800 m, at the top of a hill that separates Duilhac from the village of Rouffiac-des-Corbières, overlooking garrigue and vineyards. The strategic position which allows you to see far into the various valleys which surround it, to control the passes or to communicate signals to the castle of Quéribus a little further south.

The castle of Grand-Ribeaupierre, known under the name of the castle of Saint-Ulrich, is one of the three castles which dominate the commune of Ribeauvillé, in the Haut -Rhin. It is located at an altitude of 528 m. It has been classified as a historical monument since October 1841and February 1930. The currently visible remains date from several eras. The castle is a very fine example of the military architecture of Alsace in the Middle Ages. It is the largest and best-preserved of the three cas

Walk into the beautiful Château de Sully where each room takes you on a voyage of discovery. This place is the perfect blend of tradition and bold, exception, and elegance. The château is approached by an axial stone bridge across its moat. The façades express the traditionally defensive character of the rez-de-chaussée, the ground floor, and the richer, more open aspect of the piano nobile, articulated by pilasters. It was now one of the majestic historical places and it attracts a lot of touri

A beautiful castle which lies in the village of SArzeau. The castle has started as a Seigneurial manor which was managing an agricultural estate, later it has enlarged. It was located in the middle of a natural park of richness and diversity of rare activities. This majestic area now consists of the moated castle, a ruined chapel, a dovecote, and a few ruined outbuildings. One of the nice locations to visit and it is quite interesting too.

The smallest chateau in the Loire which was around 600 years old and is still inhabited by its owners. The 12-hectare land offers a nice garden as well as a gift shop on-site, selling regional and organic products. Guests can enjoy a free guided visit of the castle upon request and the park has a recycling exhibition. It was classified as a historical monument and the smallest châteaux in the Loire valley.

The Chateau of Villandry is the last of the great chateaux of the Loire built during the Renaissance in the Loire Valley. With its unique furnishings, décor and atmosphere, the Château de Villandry is a living testimony of French heritage. Villandry and its gardens are probably one of the most family orientated chateau within the Loire Valley in that it has a children’s maze and a beautiful play area and a beautiful garden.

A beautiful castle which was Leonardo da Vinci's last residence. The site of the manor house dates back to the 12th century when it was surrounded by fortifications of which only the watchtower remains. The house as it is today, a good example of Renaissance art using both brick and the local tufa stone. Today it is a historical monument and is also a well-known museum about Leonardo da Vinci's life, work and memory.

The Château du Haut-Kœnigsbourg is a medieval castle located in the Orschwiller commune. Built-in the 12th century, the castle bore witness to eight centuries of European conflicts and rivalries between feudal lords, kings, and emperors. From 1900 to 1908 it was rebuilt at the behest of the German Kaiser Wilhelm II. Today it is a major tourist site, attracting more than 500,000 visitors a year. It’s the only medieval castle in Alsace that has been fully restored.

A majestic and beautiful chateau that was built in the 16th century. this building has begun its life as a defense and look-out, then became a prison, then a holiday home and a sailing school before nearly falling into ruin in the 1980s. It was classified as a historical monument by decree. One of the beautiful building which paves light to the history of France.

The Dubuc castle was built in 1725, by Louis du Buc Galion, grand-son of Pierre du Buc, Sieur de La Caravelle, and Marigot, the Caravelle peninsula, east coast of Martinique, to Tartary. Situated in the center of the natural reserve, the site of the chateau Dubuc can be the opportunity for a very pleasant walk. This farm produced sugar and coffee for export. All the ruins and land are protected as historical monuments. it was now one of the famous attractions in this area.

Château Gaillard is a 12th-century castle built by Richard the Lion-Heart on the Andelys cliff overlooking the Seine River in France. The castle was long plundered for its stones as building materials so that by 1573 it had already dissolved into an uninhabited ruin. In 1862, Château Gaillard was designated a Monument Historique. It was also one of the earliest European castles to use machicolations.

A place of residence for French kings from the 15th to the 19th centuries. It is one of the examples of the French style luxury architecture. Numerous men and women of letters and European artists stayed at Amboise on the sovereigns’ invitation. It has been recognized as a monument historique by the French Ministry of Culture since 1840. It is situated at an elevation of 81 meters.

The Lille Citadel is a military structure built in the xvii th century for the defense of Lille and in the backyard. Baptized by Vauban himself the “queen of the citadels” , the military structure is remarkable for its size, the quality of its architecture, and its current state of conservation. The citadel was classified as a historic monument.

Notre Dame du Haut is a Catholic religious site – near the village of Ronchamp, eastern France – world-renowned for its chapel designed by Le Corbusier in the ’50s. It also comprises a monastery and a gatehouse and a nice bell portico. Since the French Revolution, the property is privately owned by a group of about forty local families. This chapel is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

A famous castle which was located in the commune of Saint-Goazec in Finistère, in Brittany, France. It was built in the heart of 85 hectares of grounds and has been awarded France's '20th Century Heritage' label. A beautiful park and a botanical garden are also set in this place and they are listed on the Ministry's database and are open to the public. The chateau is also listed in the monument Historique by the French Ministry of Culture.

The Douaumont ossuary is a memorial containing the skeletal remains of soldiers who died on the battlefield during the Battle of Verdun in World War I. This modern French ossuary contains the jumbled bones of 130,000 WWI soldiers. The Ossuary is a gallery-shaped building surmounted by a Lantern of the Dead tower. It has been designated as a national cemetery that contains the remains of both French and German soldiers who died on the Verdun battlefield.

The Fort Diamant is a hard whose construction began in 1840 and ended in 1849 in the municipality of Rémire-Montjoly in Guyana. This military building was entirely classified as a Historic Monument by decree dated May 14, 1980. consists of three pieces of artillery including a recess shaped "V" with two walls a meter thick, a cross casemated with nine cells, cells that had thick door wacapou clad in iron and a half-moon battery which had five guns. One of the main historical places in this area

Fort La Latte is a coastal defense fortress with a clear view of the English Channel and the Emerald Coast. The Castle was built between 1340 and 1370 by Étienne III Gouyon, Lord of Matignon. At present Fort la Latte can be visited for a fee. This impressive castle was built on a small piece of land at the Bay of the Fresnay in the 13th century. Various films have been shot at this site. This is a great castle with a unique keep in a beautiful location. But as it is a well-known tourist destina

The Genoese towers of Corsica are a series of coastal defenses built by the Republic of Genoa between the 15th and 18th centuries. There are around 70 towers still standing, and they are spread across the island. The towers were used as both lookout posts and defensive fortifications, and they were often manned by a small garrison of soldiers. In addition to their military function, the towers also served as a way for Genoa to assert its control over Corsica.

The Hohlandsbourg castle is located in Wintzenheim, near Colmar in the Haut-Rhin. Capital of the Habsburg lordship, the castle was built in 1279 by Siegfried de Gundolsheim, acquired in 1563 and modernized by Lazare de Schwendi. It was dismantled during the Thirty Years' War. One of the main attractions that were interested by tourists. It has been listed since 1840 as a monument historique by the French Ministry of Culture and It is open to the public between Easter and 11 November.