Unlike famous castles such as Beynac or Milandes, Château de Bourdeilles is far less known to travelers visiting the Dordogne. And honestly, I think that’s a real shame, because this is a remarkable castle for two main reasons:
- A fascinating history of a family that built a castle, got thrown out of it, and then, against all odds, got it back.
- It’s actually not one castle but two, standing side by side: a medieval fortress and a Renaissance palace.
These two reasons, together with the fact that the castle sits in a small, charming village on the banks of the Dronne river, make it a place I highly recommend visiting. So today, let me tell you Bourdeilles’s unusual story, and give you plenty of practical information to help you work a visit here into your Dordogne trip.
The History of Bourdeilles
The past of the Bourdeille family is shrouded in historical fog, and quite a few legends have attached themselves to this family, which we’ll talk about today.
The best known legend concerns Athilda Bourdeille, daughter of an English king and wife of King Marcomer, who, according to legend, was a descendant of King Priam of Troy. The king had seven children, and three of them invaded Gaul in the late 4th century in order to “liberate” the region of Aquitaine from Roman rule.
During their sea voyage they ran into a terrible storm that blew them off course and brought them to a small island facing present-day Bordeaux. There they had to fight a mythological creature with the body of a lion, the legs and wings of an eagle, known as a griffin. Only one of the sons survived, defeating the griffin by cutting off its legs, which is why the emblem of the family and of the town of Bourdeilles is a pair of griffin’s legs.
That same family member, whose first name has been lost to history, built the first fortress of Bourdeilles and named it after his family (Bourdeille). Years later, though, an anonymous clerk made a transcription error and wrote the place name as Bourdeilles, and the mistake has stuck ever since. That’s why the name of the castle and the village has an extra S, even though the family that ruled there never added that S to their own name.
In 1183, several monks from Brantôme Abbey took shelter at the castle. But instead of thanking the lord of the castle for his hospitality, the monks decided that Bourdeilles actually belonged to their abbey. Bernard de Bourdeille, the owner of the castle, appealed to the King of England, who ruled Aquitaine at the time, and asked him to rule on the matter, while the monks appealed to King France‘s King Philippe Auguste (r. 1180-1223).
The dispute dragged on until 1269, when the court ruled that Château de Bourdeilles did indeed belong to Brantôme Abbey, and the family was expelled from the castle. The castle then passed to Géraud de Maulmont, the brother of the abbot of Brantôme, and he is the one who built the medieval fortress you’ll see when you visit Bourdeilles (it’s called the “new castle” because an earlier fortress once stood on the site, of which almost nothing remains).
When Géraud died, a dispute broke out among his heirs over the castle, and the King of France stepped in and took the castle for himself, in exchange for lands he granted the Maulmont family in the Auvergne region. As a result, in the early 14th century, Bourdeilles became a prison, where the Knights Templar were held after King Philip IV the Fair (r. 1285-1314) seized their wealth. Some say the paintings in the castle’s cellars are actually graffiti left by those very prisoners (you can read about the Templars in my article on the Marais in Paris).
Later, when the last Count of Bergerac died, King Philip VI of France (r. 1328-1350) decided to make a land swap with the Count of Périgord: in exchange for Bergerac, the count received the castle of Bourdeilles.
That count and his sons defended Bourdeilles against English attacks during the Hundred Years’ War (1337-1453), but in 1369 the English managed to seize the castle. Luckily for the French, they could count at the time on the services of one of their greatest warriors, Bertrand du Guesclin (c. 1320-1380), and eight years after the English conquest, he managed to liberate Bourdeilles.
The counts of Périgord returned to rule Bourdeilles, but under the rule of Archambaud V (1361-1398) and Archambaud VI (1398-1399), the castle turned into a den of crime, serving as a base for raids of plunder and theft carried out by the counts themselves. Eventually the King of France had had enough, deposed Archambaud VI, and handed Périgord over to his brother from the House of Orléans.
The castle kept changing hands, passing from the House of Orléans to a Duke of Brittany, and from there to the House of Albret. When Jean III (1481-1516) inherited the castle, he had no use for it, so he decided to sell it for 4,000 gold coins to none other than François Bourdeille, a descendant of the very family that built Château de Bourdeilles and gave it its name.
Between 1575 and 1582, a brutal war of religion raged in Périgord. André de Bourdeille (1519-1582) managed, with great effort, to keep Bourdeilles in the king’s camp, while his brother, Pierre de Bourdeille (known as Brantôme), managed to save Brantôme Abbey from a massacre of Protestants.
André de Bourdeille’s wife, Jacquette de Montbron (1542-1598), is the one who built the Renaissance palace that stands right next to the old fortress. Like her husband, she was Catholic and closely connected to the French royal court.
That’s why she built a special room, known as the Queen’s Room, in case Catherine de’ Medici (1519-1589), the Queen Mother of France, ever came to visit. Sadly for Jacquette, that visit never happened, but at least we are left with a magnificent room, which we’ll talk about in the next section.
Before we get to that, let’s finish telling the story of the castle and the family that built it. André’s son, Henri de Bourdeille, inherited his father’s title of governor of Périgord on behalf of the king, and was even granted the title of marquis by King Henri IV (r. 1589-1610). But his son François-Sicaire died in 1672 without heirs, and a conflict broke out between the Comte de Jumilhac and another branch of the family, named Bourdeille-Mata, with each side claiming the castle.
In the end, it was decided that the Comte de Jumilhac would buy the castle for 85,000 livres. A few years later, though, he sold it at an enormous profit of 438,000 livres to Jean Bertin, a wealthy businessman who lived in the area. The Bertin family lived in the castle for several years, until they were forced to flee France during the French Revolution, and Bourdeilles was nationalized.
The castle was indeed returned to its owners in 1797, but it changed hands several more times until, in 1842, it was sold for 6,000 francs to Joseph Marie Armand, Marquis de Bourdeilles. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, Château de Bourdeilles was returned to the family that founded it, for the second time!
Members of the Bourdeille family continued to live in the castle until 1947, when the last of the Bourdeilles died without heirs, and the castle passed into the hands of the Baron de Bossu-Walcourt, who had served as aide-de-camp to the King of Belgium. After his death, his widow decided to give the castle to the French government, which opened it to the public.
Now it’s your turn to go visit it…
Visiting the Château de Bourdeilles
As I mentioned earlier, Bourdeilles is actually made up of two châteaux: a medieval fortress and a Renaissance palace. I won’t describe every single room you’ll see there (and there’s plenty to see), but I’ll try to give you a small taste of what awaits you.
Before we start the visit, let’s get the logistics out of the way.
Location and opening hours
The Château de Bourdeilles sits in the northern part of Périgord (the Dordogne). To get there, just type “Château de Bourdeilles” into your navigation app.
The château is open seven days a week, with the following hours:
- February 5 to April 8: 10:00-12:30 and 14:00-17:30
- April 9 to July 6: 10:00-13:00 and 14:00-18:00
- July 7 to August 26: 10:00-19:00
- August 27 to November 6: 10:00-13:00 and 14:00-18:00
- November 7 to December 31: 10:00-12:30 and 14:00-17:00
Tickets
A ticket (as of July 2022) costs 9 euros for an adult and 6 euros for a child. You can buy tickets at the ticket office or book them in advance on this website.
What you’ll find in Bourdeilles
If you understand French and would like to see what’s waiting for you in Bourdeilles, feel free to watch the video below:
Everyone else, keep reading…
Once you’ve entered the château grounds and bought your tickets, it’s time to begin your visit. As I mentioned at the start, one ticket actually gets you two châteaux: one from the Middle Ages and one from the Renaissance. Let’s start with the medieval château.
This château was built by the Maumont family, whom I mentioned earlier, and consists of a courtyard surrounded by thick walls and towers built for defense. One of these towers houses the lord’s living quarters, made up of several rooms, some of which are used today, among other things, for concerts. So it’s definitely worth checking out this link to see if there’s an interesting musical performance happening while you’re visiting Périgord.
The most interesting part of the old château is, without a doubt, the keep, which was built over the course of about a century, starting in the late 13th century. You can visit the keep and climb three floors, with different rooms on each level. In one of them you’ll find a mysterious 14th-century carving whose origin is unknown, though some claim it was made by the Knights Templar who were imprisoned there, whom I mentioned in the history section of this article.
Once you’ve finished visiting the medieval château, it’s time to head over to the Renaissance palace, which in my opinion is the more interesting of the two (though that’s a matter of taste).
The palace, which was never completed, sits on the highest point of the grounds and offers a stunning view of the river. It is built over three floors, each with several rooms full of furniture, paintings and statues.
I obviously won’t go into detail about every table, chair or carved chest you’ll find there, but I can’t skip mentioning the collection of suits of armor, carved wooden chests, portraits and even a stylish pewter chamber pot, resting peacefully in the middle of the room…
One of those portraits is of Simon de Montfort (c. 1175-1218), who became infamous for the massacres he led in southwest France during the Albigensian Crusade. It was painted by Simon Vouet (1590-1649) and once belonged to none other than Cardinal de Richelieu (1585-1642).
Of all the rooms in the château, the most impressive by far is the Golden Room, built especially for Queen Catherine de’ Medici (1519-1589), who never actually stayed in it. You’ll find a gorgeous wooden ceiling here, the finest furniture, and more. If the queen had known how beautiful this room would turn out, she might have bothered to stop by for a short visit.
The château garden
After finishing your visit to the Renaissance palace of Bourdeilles, head over to the gardens overlooking the river. You’ll find rows of cedar trees there, and if you look down, you’ll spot an old flour mill that uses the river’s current to turn the wheel that grinds the wheat.
If you love photography, you’ll find no shortage of photo opportunities in this garden, and if photography isn’t your thing, feel free to simply stroll around and enjoy yourself, or sit on one of the many benches scattered around and soak in the quiet, peaceful, and beautiful scenery.
Where to stay in Bourdeilles
Since Bourdeilles is a small town, you won’t find many places to stay there. But if you insist on staying right in town, I recommend Hostellerie Les Griffons, a boutique hotel housed in a 17th-century building overlooking the Dronne River.
Another option is Château des Sénéchaux, which recently appeared on Booking.com. It offers rooms furnished in Renaissance style and looks wonderful. However, since it had no reviews at the time of writing, you’ll have to take a chance and see if it’s as good as it looks.
If there are no rooms available at these places, I recommend heading about a 10-minute drive from Bourdeilles and staying in Brantôme, where you’ll find plenty of great lodging options. If you decide to take my advice, check out the article Recommended hotels and apartments in Brantôme and the surrounding area to find yourself a wonderful hotel or apartment.
Recommended restaurants in Bourdeilles
From talking to locals, the two most recommended restaurants in Bourdeilles are:
Nomad
Address: Lieu-dit Les Promenades
Eclectic cuisine with quite a few vegetarian and even vegan dishes (not a small thing in this region). A reasonable price of 25-30 euros per person.
La Drona
Address: Rue du Pont
This is the restaurant at the Griffons hotel, which I mentioned earlier. It’s not cheap, but it’s not outrageously expensive either (a tasting menu costs 62 euros per person), and you’ll get excellent cuisine featuring the best of the region, as well as the sea.
If there’s no room at these restaurants, feel free to head to Brantôme, where you’ll find a much wider selection of excellent restaurants. You can read about them in the article Brantôme: the Venice of the Dordogne.
Related reading