Chateaux, Forts, Fortifications

Aguilar Castle

Arques Castle

Beaucaire Castle

Medieval fortress site on the hilltop at Beaucaire, beside the Rhône opposite Tarascon. Ruins include intact towers and ramparts, with outstanding view of the Rhône valley.

Buoux Fort

The magnificent ruins of the Fort de Buoux are on top of a high stone butte in the Luberon mountains, about 10 km south of Apt and 8 km east of Bonnieux, overlooking the deep ravines of the Aigue Brun river.

Cathar Castles

The Cathar castles were involved in the Anti-Cathars Albigensian Crusade (1209-1229) in the Occitaine region of Southwest France.

Châteaurenard Castle

An iconic fortified Medieval château standing above the small town of Châteaurenard, 5 km south of Avignon. The castle is said to date from the 13th and the 15th centuries.

Javon Chateau

This picturesque 16th-century Renaissance chateau sits beside the road in a clearing of the Vaucluse Forest, with such a feudal air that it invokes the image of knights.

Lastours Castles

Lastours Castles are a tight group of four defensive structures clustered on rocky ridges of the Cabardès hills north of Carcassonne, built as a novel variant of a single larger castle. They were built in the 11th century, at the peak of the Cathar (and antil-Cathar Albigensian) period.

Montségur Castle

Peyrepertuse Castle

Chateau de Portes

The boat-shaped Chateau de Portes sits on the edge of the Cévennes at the "Col de Portes", guarding the ancient Voie Regordane since the 11th century

Puivert Castle

Quéribus Castle

Saint-André Fort

A medieval walled fortress built on a hilltop beside Villeneuve-les-Avignon, directly across the Rhône from Avignon. The fortress was built in the 12th century, surrounding the Abbey of Saint-André which had been there since the 10th century.

Termes Castle