Château de Hautefort
Rising above the Périgord Blanc like a misplaced Loire valley dream, Château de Hautefort is one of the finest Renaissance castles in southwest France — all pepper-pot towers, formal French gardens and honey-gold stone. It is the undisputed reason most visitors make the detour to this village, and it rewards every minute of the climb.
Architecture and History
Built in its current form between 1630 and 1670 for the Marquis de Hautefort, the château replaced a medieval fortress and was designed with a grandeur unusual for the Dordogne — think symmetrical facades, slate roofs and a monumental terrace overlooking the village below.
The interior was devastated by a catastrophic fire in 1968 but painstakingly restored over two decades by the Countess de Bastard, whose dedication is now the stuff of local legend. Today the furnished rooms, tapestries and painted ceilings look as they might have in the 17th century.
Gardens and Views
The formal box-hedge parterre gardens surrounding the château are immaculately clipped and best appreciated from the rampart walk, where you can look down on geometric green patterns set against the rolling Périgord countryside.
Spring brings roses climbing the walls and the scent of lavender along the terraces, while autumn turns the surrounding woodland copper and amber — both seasons are genuinely spectacular here.
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