chateau de la roche-guyon

I've been traveling in Normandy and elsewhere in France for 30 years, but had never had a chance to visit this attraction. Any WWII historian or teacher of French language, history, or culture should visit this site. It is very well maintained, and even on the summer day we went, it was not too crowded. I strongly recommend climbing to the top even though it is physically challenging. The view of the river valley is breathtaking!

The chateau was fascinating and the lunch in the village was one of our best in France. We liked the fact that there were not many people and we could tour at leisure

Before the castle, there's the travel story. My best viewing platform of Paris are glimpses afforded through the clock face of the Musee D'orsay. My absolute best viewing outside of Paris happens in the harmonious balance found between wide, fertile plains, broad green valleys and the odd wooded hill. The drive from Paris takes about an hour, with the village sitting,settled into a bend of the right bank of the meandering Seine. We found the finest view of this hemlet, nestled at the foot of a steep, protective wall of a plateau, is from the road along the peaks. The village keep to the castle from which the village claims its fame, looks down more than a thousand years of of history. It is an imposing structure, all right!. Its imposing silhouette has stood over this valley of chalk cliffs since the Middle Ages. The old fortress is an eclectic mix of architectural styles, from the medieval keep to the stables, the great staircase and courtyard to the five hectare "experimental kitchen garden" it offers a strange and enthralling journey through time. We found, its best exploring the village from the Route des Cretes,which overlooks the town, keep, castle and the banks of the Seine. Pop down to the castle where an excellent explanation is given by the guide, then an encouragement to to venture down a narrow tunnel hewn into the rock, taking the 250 steps up to the impressive keep. From 110 m up, we gazed over the natural beauty of the Vexin, with its meadows, and cereal fields, as well as, the village below. On the banks of the gently flowing river, the village's half-timbered houses line up as if on parade. At the end of the cobbled streets, we caught sight of a number of cavities dug out of the cliff face to extract the saltpetre deposits. We were lucky to attend the annual garden fest, soaking up the charm, colours and the beautiful temperature.

WWII enthusiasts and students of history should not miss this site. Although the day was rainy, the chateau was still an interesting place to spend several hours. The local village was a delight to walk around.

the view is incredible!make sure you have good shoes and take a break half way if you're not in shape.

We loved the tapestries - absolutely thrilling to see these up close. The castles winds around and up. Very much an adventure, particularly for kids. Be prepared to climb! don't go if you don't like stairs or heights. Plan on at least an hour to visit - possibly more.

Staying in a nearby B&B, the Chateau was recommended as worthwhile visiting. My grandson and I made it to the top with its sweeping views of the Seine. We did not do a tour, as we visited early in the day and would have had to wait too long for it to start. I wish there had been more information in English to enlarge upon the obvious wealth of historic information. That was a huge disappointment to us, but not surprising.

In common with many attractions within France you are either fighting for elbow room or you are totally alone as we were on our afternoon visit after visiting Monet's garden less than 15 minuets away.After enjoying a picnic lunch alongside the Seine and feeding the swans in the very pretty village of the same name, we walked up to chateau and took a leisurely walk around an impressive building in total solitude. Whilst the building contains very little by way of contents the architecture is worth the entrance fee alone. The entrance fee now includes an written fact sheet in English which does enhance the visit. We enjoyed an excellent coffee in the local bar in the village enjoying the ambience that only rural France offers. But still less that 45 minuets from Paris.If this building were within the National Trust in the UK, who would furnish it appropriately. I would anticipate it would one of their most popular sites!

A great experience, great views if you make it to the top. Would have liked to have understood a bit more of the history, but we didn't do the tour

Build in the 12th century. Stunning view from the top if you manage to climb the stairs about 200 plus step. We enjoyed it. Has lot of hidden history. We did not join the tour . After visiting the chateau , we ate at Creperie..it was delicious and the staff was very friendly. We had to wait a bit but the service went fast when we were seated.

After several days spent at W.W. II sites in Normandy, we drove to Vernon, France, to spend the night before visiting Giverny. After a half day spent at the Claude Monet residence, we drove another fifteen minutes to Chateau de la Roche-Guyon. Founded as a fortress in the 12th century, it eventually became an impressive and imposing castle that Field Marshal Erwin Rommel appropriated for his headquarters during W.W. II. It was this aspect of its history that drew us and we were rewarded by being able to tour part of the residence as well as the bunker that Rommel had constructed. It is helpful to know something about the history before arriving as there is no brochure in English.

Externally stunning and imposing overlooking the Seine this chateau is still privately owned although debts have caused the sale of much of the interior furnishings. However the signed tours are very interesting and the views stunning from the towers.

An interesting building, backing on to the ancient fortress built into the cliff. Getting to the top is a challenge even for the more energetic, but there are good views even from a lower level. When we were there the chateau was filled with somewhat bizarre modern artwork, something the French seem to like to do. Rommel used the chateau as his HQ when in charge of the French coastline. Perhaps it is his unhappy spirit, but we found the building a rather depressing place.

It was a nice place to look around, but as there was no english audio or written information anywhere, we had no idea what we were looking at. We walked out not knowing anything about the place. There was some nice views to be had form the higher points of the 'castle?' A bit of a waste of time really unless you can read french.

We visited with our two boys 9 and 11 and cousins from Paris. It's NOT an easy climb to the top, but the two boys were up to the top faster than anyone! They compared this castle to their video game Minecraft because of the tunnels and small passages. The view at the top was worth the climb inside, but it's many many steps! How did they ever carve this castle into the cliff......