Château de Tiffauges

Tiffauges, France

The Château de Tiffauges is also known as the château de Barbe-bleue (Bluebeard's castle) after its most famous resident, Gilles de Rais, known as Barbe-bleue. It was here that Bluebeard perpetrated his atrocities.

The castle is in the Marches (border lands) between Brittany, Poitou and Anjou and thus an important strategic point. It is positioned on a hill at the confluence of the Sèvre Nantaise and Crûme rivers, this position providing protection against assailants.

The castle was built between the 12th and 16th centuries. The notorious murderer, Gilles de Rais (1404–1440) is associated with the castle.

For a long time, the castle was abandoned and lay in ruins, the inner yard even used for a while as a football pitch by the local club, RST Tiffauges. The castle is now owned by the Conseil Général of Vendée. It hosts a series of spectacles and collections, including medieval war machines and an alchemy centre.

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Details

Founded: 12th century
Category: Castles and fortifications in France
Historical period: Birth of Capetian dynasty (France)

More Information

en.wikipedia.org

Rating

4.6/5 (based on Google user reviews)

User Reviews

Zoe Edwards (16 months ago)
Somehow we paid twice for entry. Tried using Apple Pay but it didn’t work so used credit card and PIN which seemed to work as tickets appeared to be produced but apparently it hadn’t, so paid with cash. On checking online later, I could see the credit card had worked. That aside, the castle was impressive and had we arrived earlier in the day and not 5pm, I think we would have really enjoyed the Scheduled activities.
HL (21 months ago)
It’s closed in Feb, but you can still admire the castle walking around it.
teng john (2 years ago)
Medieval castle lay in ruins but amazing replica ancient siege equipments and “Mortal Kombat” show is worth the €8?
Ein jel Line (3 years ago)
We went here last weekend to see the marche the noel ( christmas market) and omg it's so magical. You can check our youtube channel : Angeline Thomas for the full video of our visit. Merci we enjoyed our tour.
Gustavo Ribeiro (3 years ago)
Great time in this castle Kids loves the shows and activities You will definitely spend a longer period that previously planned Nice area for picnic I recommend to arrive at opening time to pick the activities and be able to plan accordantly
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