Château de Caen

The Château de Caen occupies a hilltop at the centre of Caen, Normandy, commanding views over the city's medieval street plan. William the Conqueror — Duke of Normandy and, from 1066, King of England — began construction of the castle in 1060, making it one of the earliest Norman fortifications in France. The enclosure, one of the largest in medieval Europe at over five hectares, is defined by massive limestone ramparts dating mainly from the 12th and 13th centuries. Visitors can walk the full circuit of the ramparts for free, with elevated views over Caen's rebuilt postwar city and the towers of the two great abbeys William and his wife Matilda founded nearby. Inside the walls, the 12th-century Salle de l'Échiquier (Exchequer Hall) is the oldest surviving secular Norman hall in Normandy, used in the medieval period for royal and ducal administration. The castle grounds contain two museums: the Musée de Normandie, covering regional archaeology, history, and ethnography from prehistoric times to the present; and the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Caen, housed in a modern building within the fortification walls, with collections of 15th- to 20th-century European paintings and decorative arts. Both museums survived the devastating Allied bombing of Caen in July 1944 that destroyed much of the surrounding city. The grounds are freely accessible year-round; the museums charge modest admission fees. A rampart walk and visits to both museums together take two to three hours.