fortress of salses

Serviceprof

This Fort played a significant role in territorial battles between France and Spain. Built by King Ferdinand (Spain) in late 1490's - early 1500's this structure was intended to help block French expansion into what is now east-central Spain. It is a wonderful example of the Moorish influence in Spanish architecture. The fortress was one of the first forts to offer 360 degree protection from multiple levels within the structure. At full strength the fortress housed over 1500 troops. Take two hours of time if in area and catch up on interesting European history....

Szat001

The parking place is very far from the fortress, but this is a beautiful place. The building is in excellent conditions with moorish influences. It's a piece of history.

manxman25

This is an interesting castle with some history. It is not a ruin and is worth seeing. There is one drawback and that is that the guided tour is in French and the guide talks fast with an accent. I asked her to slow down and was able to understand about 80% of what she said but I missed a lot when I had to explain it in English to my wife who cannot speak French. The guide was very knowledgeable about the construction and history of the castle. Worth a visit for history buffs.

JMR_Ottawa

it is not well advertise, but worth the detour. the guided tour is well done it is a jewel with the Cathar country. we did enjoy it and fun while we were there.

john_jane_carver

We live in Languedoc and use the railway that passes this fort. We kept saying that we would like to visit and we finally have! The railway station is Salses le Chateau and it is only a few minutes walk to the Fortress. It opens at 10 am and we were early. It gave us chance to walk all around the outside and we were amazed at its size, it is so much bigger than we thought it would be. It marked the northern boundary of Spanish territory. At the end of the 1400s the French razed the village of Sales and its fortress. It was then rebuilt by the Spanish - so it has a long and interesting history. When you buy your tickets you get a leaflet in English. The tickets cost €7 for adults. There is an interesting shop in the entrance hall. The WCs are downstairs where there are vending machines for drinks. Inside it has a huge courtyard surrounded by many different rooms. There are stables, a bakery and a bathhouse. You can't visit the keep unless you go with the guided tour. This is only in French at the moment. It is interesting to see the rooms inside but none of them are furnished. We enjoyed seeing the Fortress.

NialO58

A very large fortress which didn't see much use before becoming redundant. Worth taking the (free) guided tour to get a better idea of this immaculately-laid-out building. The fortress is slowly being opened up to show more of it's detail and size. A well-spent couple of hours.

SusieSporran

This is an interesting visit even with young children who don't speak French! It was something of a surprise in terms of size & shape as it seems to be listed & signposted both as a castle & as a fort. It is a fort built in Middle Ages by Spanish when Roussillon was part of Spain. The entry is good value as only adults pay. You can visit a part of the Fort on your own and there are leaflets in various languages. However the most interesting parts are on the guided tour which you are strongly encouraged to take! Our guide was full of life & knowledgeable. I do speak good French so was able to get a lot out of tour but neither my husband or children do. However she engaged with the children in particular & was able to speak some English to give a broad outline & I was able to give a bit more. The only slight downside of our visit is that there we were in a big group with lots of kids who were not quiet but she was able to keep it all together! We were glad to have visited!

IainGKing

A quirk of history means that this is one of the best preserved castles anywhere. You do need to go on the guided tour to see all of it. The tour is in French so young children (even French ones !) may get bored. The guide tried hard to be entertaining - a big problem when the castle was besieged was a lack of fromage frais ! On the other hand there's acres of space for young musketeers to let off steam in.Unlike similar attractions in the UK, there is no cafe. There's lots of space outside for a picnic.

991christiani

Well worth a visit when you are in the area. If you have an interest in the history of this part of France the place is worth a visit. The guide was very good and the tour around the fortress is exiting both for adults and children.

437michaelm437

I totally agree with much of the comments made about the highlights outside Perpignan; however, there has been a screw up in the comments. The first recommended place is the Chateau de Salses and the second is the fort of Salses. Please note there is an error as both places are the same. We spent time looking for both sights, but found out they exist as one monument

carrienewbury

We visited on an extremely hot afternoon in August. The visit wasn't preplanned, we were just passing by and decided to have a look. Travelling as a family of six, with children ranging up to the age of 21, we were delighted to learn that entrance is free up to the age of 25 (but you need some form of id for the young adults). So our total cost for the visit including a tour was only 15 euros - extremely good value. The French guide very helpfully gave us a rapid translate of her speech at each stage of the visit - otherwise there was a English leaflet to follow. My French is ok but I couldn't follow the vocab and speed of the guide's explanations. There was a very thorough tour of the upper level of the fort. We were then free to look around the lower level. Interestingly there are modern artworks in some of the rooms. My son had visited Porchester Castle near Portsmouth with his year 7 history group and found the comparison with this Spanish fort worthwhile. There is also an excellent gift shop.

186621Pkaye

Need some French to understand the tour but very interesting castle on the old French Spanish border b

simonv309

The fortress itself is extremely impressive, the guided tour however is lacking in many areas, coming to a fortress I was expecting more details on the military history of the fortress (the several sieges etc.) but that aspect was only slightly touched upon by our guide who mainly focused on the architecture and the "fun facts".

3DirkV

We visited this place, but I guess I must have been out of season. Basically, the building is impressive but empty. Quite some works were ongoing, but nothing about that was mentioned. Information was also very sparse. We are usually quite interested in such buildings, but we left this one in less than half an hour. We even couldn't be bothered to wait another 15 min for a guided tour... Quite disappointing.

Albywon

This is a 'must-see' in my opinion if you are anywhere near the area. We were staying about 40 km North of here and made the trip down. In my opinion it is the number one attraction in the region but often forgotten as it is out of the way. The history is well documented so I will not repeat however I will mention that you must do the tour, which is included in the 7.50 Euro entry fee. Our tour ran at 2pm but check the website prior to visiting. It was in French only (not much good for me) however it covers areas of the Castle, including the Keep, which are only accessible if you go on the tour. The small brochure they give you cantains all the highlights that you need.SO definitely go there, and if you are in the village I suggest you eat at 'Le Bistro Du Chateau' located at 21, Rue Armand Ciaret. Not reviewed in TA but good quality homemade food at a reasonable price.Enjoy