The camping season isn’t over yet so we had another visit to France. We try to spend our birthdays at places we like at that moment and for my boyfriend Stefan, it was France. We went to camping Campix and spent some time revisiting places he likes. This was all underground, but we also want to see stuff above ground so on the last day, we did something new. It was on our way back to the Netherlands so why not.Â
Tour de chateau
Carlo asked us if we could visit a castle we didn’t visit yet. Of course, we like new views, so we said yes and went on a tour of the Chateau. On to Pierrefonds for a visit to the Chateaux de Pierrefonds, also called the Merlin castle. The castle serves as decor for films and series. It can also be seen in the BBS-series ‘Merlin’, where it is the legendary castle of Camelot.
When you get close to the area, you can see the great towers of the castle because it is situated on top of a hill. Just like many castles, the hill is used to place the castle. It is a tactical place perfect for defense purposes.
Usually, the ticket shops are inside the castle, right at the entrance which means that you are busy getting your money and preparing yourself for the ticketing procedure, but Chateau de Pierrefonds did a great job moving the ticketing office outside the castle. This means, that once you bought your ticket and you leave the ticket office, you get to relax and start your tour with a proper view of the place to visit.
The architecture looks amazing outside as well as inside. It is the best place to do some old architectural photography because there is so much to see and explore. There are a lot of details and secrets hidden in plain sight. All the little sculptures are different and no room is the same. The architect used limestone and a lot of decorations. On the roof, there is slate. It is an old building because the roots of this castle are from the 14e century.
Start of the tour
The tour starts outside and brings you to the center of the whole complex. There is so much to see already, all the walls around you are different and there is a lot to discover.
 
Inside views
For this tour, there was a pretty easy path to follow and only one way to go so there was no way that a room or place is unvisited. You can choose your own path and take the time to explore it to its full potential.
  
  
I really like the inside of this place, it feels like there is a tiny bit of modern influence since some of the rooms are just plain limestone while other big rooms have all the corners painted.Â
The outside and inside are different and can be seen as separate jewels of the castle.
Caves of the castle
The last part of the path to follow goes underground. So down we go. The underground part of the castle is actually a place to stock casting molds for the gypsum sculptures that serve as funerary art. The sculptures represent the people that had a big influence on french history. These were specially made for a history museum of Versailles. Unfortunately, the inauguration started in 1837 and stopped in 1883 because the museum lacked room to show all of these statues. Since 2006 they are back at the castle and showcased in the caves of the castle.
If you feel like visiting it as well and want some more information, you can find more info over here.
Or check out more places I visited.
