France’s Castle Mystery: Why This Country Has More Castles Than Anywhere Else

When it comes to travel and vacations, we sometimes ask ourselves simple questions because we wonder why certain things we see or experience are the way they are, how they can be explained, for what reasons, and so on. In short, why…

Today, we’re talking about something France is the undisputed world champion of: the number of castles. But actually, why is that?

Nearly 50,000 Castles!

You only need to travel regularly through France to notice there’s no shortage of castles throughout the country. Large ones, small ones, in good condition or practically in ruins, famous ones or completely unknown to the public, those dating from the Middle Ages, the Renaissance (like those of the Loire Valley) or much more recent periods – there’s something for every taste in terms of styles and visits. Because, unlike other countries, French castles are mostly open to the public, sometimes converted into museums or even hotels, though many admittedly only open part of their grounds to visitors.

So why so many castles, to the point where France is the world champion in this regard?

First, you should know that France has between 45,000 and 50,000 castles of all kinds. In fact, we don’t know their exact number since the notion of “castle” remains quite vague, with regions and departments being better or worse provided in this regard – like the Loire Valley but also the Dordogne, sometimes nicknamed “the department of 1,001 castles.”

As you might expect, this is primarily explained by the history of these regions, but also of the country, which saw successive periods of medieval fortress construction when power was primarily feudal, princely and royal residences during the Renaissance when the noblest and richest needed to “show off,” and later manor houses and large bourgeois residences, some of which can indeed also be considered castles.

Because here too, one of France’s particularities is offering a vast range, between the 13,000 medieval fortresses in more or less good condition recorded throughout the territory, the 400 Renaissance-period castles, and these countless more or less remarkable buildings constructed during recent centuries. In short, quite a heritage with 11,000 properties classified or registered as Historic Monuments.

More than anywhere else, since France surpasses its neighbors in terms of castles: Germany (25,000), Italy (20,000), Spain (10,000), and Britain (4,000), which are nonetheless not lacking either. For those interested, each year in France, around 3,000 castles are for sale…