🏰 The 51 Castles of French-speaking Switzerland in 2020

The fortified castles

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The golden age of fortified castles (châteaux forts) ranges from the 11th to the 13th century when they are built, then declined rapidly from the beginning of the 15th century with the appearance of powder artillery around 1370 and the metal ball around 1450. The vast majority of castles in French-speaking or Western Switzerland are built, financed or inspired by the Counts of Savoy, who became Dukes in 1416.

The castles have been relatively well preserved over time, few of them have disappeared like those of Palezieux or Bossonnens in the state of ruins. Some of them cannot be visited because they are in private hands but others in the canton of Fribourg, although they are in public hands, house the administration of the district capitals and are therefore not visitable.

The splendid Chillon castle.

A video report from the TV show “C’est pas sorcier” about fortified castles.

The components of a fortified castle

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Here is a small glossary that will help you to find your way around a fortified castle.

• Lower courtyard: First area surrounded by fortifications.
• Curtain wall: Walls connecting two towers.
• Keep: Master tower of the castle which acts as a place of last withdrawal if the castle is attacked
• Moat: Ditch filled with water surrounding the castle
• Scallop: Small corner turret
• High courtyard: Second space around the keep.
• Harrow: Heavy iron grate that can be lowered quickly and blocks the passage of the main entrance.
• Latrines: Primitive toilets inside the castle. In the case of Chillon Castle, the excrement fell directly into the water of the lake.
• Mashicolations: Elements overhanging a tower or rampart that allow to reach the foot of the fortifications with the throw of projectiles.
• Murderer: Vertical and narrow opening for archery or crossbow shooting.
• Oblivious: Prison located in a cellar of the castle to get rid of a prisoner.
• Drawbridge: A wooden movable bridge that raises or lowers to allow passage. At Chillon Castle, the drawbridge was replaced by a solid bridge in the middle of the 18th century.
• Poterne: Back door allowing to escape from the castle. The back door of Chillon Castle is located on the lake side. It was used in 1536 by the Savoyard lord to escape by boat in front of the Bernese attack.

An aerial view of Chillon Castle with a description of its various elements.

A video showing the different elements of a fortified castle.

The inventoried castles

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Dozens of castles are listed in French-speaking Switzerland, la Torpille team visits the most important of them and only the castles dating back to the medieval period before 1450.

The following castles are not inventoried by the Torpille team:

• Buildings named as castles but of recent construction (e.g. Aile castle in Vevey or Mercier castle in Sierre)
• Old buildings that look more like beautiful houses (e. g. Prangins castle)
• Castles in a state of advanced ruins (e.g. Montorge castle in Sion or Chalais tower)

The tower of Chalais is not inventoried by the Torpille team.

Categorization

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The castles of French-speaking Switzerland may be in different states of conservation and can be categorised as follows:

Large-sized castles which can be visited and kept in their original state:

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Chillon, Grandson, Gruyère, Oron, Valangin, La Sarraz.

The castle of Oron remarkably preserved.

Castles of important sizes which can be visited but recycled in museums:

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Yverdon, Morges, Romont, St-Maurice, Aigle, Nyon, Boudry.

The castle of Nyon contains the historical museum and porcelain.

Private castles not open to visitors:

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Blonay, Châtelard, Champvent, Vufflens, Glérolles, Lucens, Les Clées, Vidomnes, Goubing, Vaumarcus, Gorgier, Saint-Barthélémy, Môtiers.

The Château de Blonay has been owned by the de Blonay family since its creation.

Castles owned by a canton or commune but not visitable:

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Bulle, Châtel-Saint-Denis, Morat, Rolle, Vaulruz, St-Maire, Chenaux, Majorie, Colombier, Tour d’Anniviers, Tour Bertholod.

The castle of Bulle cannot be visited despite a magnificent structure known as the “Savoyard square”.

Castles in ruins with a visitable keep:

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Saillon, La Tour-de-Peilz, Ogoz, Saxon, Orbe, St-Martin du Chêne.

The spiral metal stairs inside the keep of the Saxon castle.

Comparison table

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Names	Links	Pictures	Altitude m	Canton	Visitable?	Public?	Construction	Keep	Under control in 1400	Wars of Burgundy	Visit	Remarks
Aigle	Link		436	Vaud	✔️✔️	✔️ (Municipality)	12th centrury	Square	Savoy	☠️	19.02.2017	Wine and Vine Museum
Anniviers (Tower)	Link		1208	Valais	❌	✔️ (Municipality)	13e centrury	Square	Hauts-Valaisans	👍	26.05.2018
Ancien Evêché	Link		510	Vaud	✔️	✔️	11th to 15th century	Square	Bishop of Lausanne	👍	21.07.2018	Historical Museum of Lausanne. Contains few original items.
Avenches	Link		478	Vaud	❌	✔️ (Municipality)	1175	Square	Bishop of Lausanne	👍	11.03.2018
Bertholod (Tower)	Link		400	Vaud	❌	✔️ (Municipality of Payerne)	13e centrury	Circular	Bishop of Lausanne	👍	11.11.2018
Blonay	Link		646	Vaud	❌👁️	❌	1184	Square	Vassal de la Savoie	👍	19.03.2017	Habitation
Bulle	Link		769	Fribourg	❌👁️	✔️ (Canton)	1301	Circular	Bishop of Lausanne	👍	20.11.2016	District Administration
Boudry	Link		477	Neuchâtel	✔️	✔️ (Canton)	13th centrury	Circular	Counts of Neuchâtel?		24.03.2018
Champvent	Link		502	Vaud	❌👁️	❌	Beginning of 13th century	Circular	Allies of Burgundy	☠️	21.01.2018	Private
Châtel-Saint-Denis	Link		844	Fribourg	❌	✔️ (Canton)	13th century	Square	Savoy	👍	11.03.2017	District Administration
Châtelard (Montreux)	Link		502	Vaud	❌	❌	13e century	Square	?	☠️	24.12.2016	Habitation
Chenaux (Estavayer-le-Lac)	Link		456	Fribourg	❌👁️	✔️ (Canton)	1392	Circular	Savoy	☠️	21.01.2018	District Administration Partly made of brick
Chillon (Veytaux)	Link		374	Vaud	✔️✔️	✔️ (Canton)	11e and 12e centrury Improved during 13th and 14th centuries	Square	Savoy (Baillage)	👍	07.04.2016	Temporary exhibitions
Colombier	Link		531	Neuchâtel	❌	✔️	12th century	Square	Lords of Colombiers Allies to Neuchâtel	👍	24.03.2018
Glérolles (Saint Saphorin)	Link		378	Vaud	❌	❌	Keep in 1150 Castle at the beginning of 14th century.	Circular	Bishop of Lausanne	👍 ?	28.01.2018	Has few original elements.
Gorgier	Link		524	Neuchâtel	❌	❌	En of 12th century	Square	Lords of Estavayer Allied of Comtes of Neuchâtel	👍	24.03.2018	Not accessible because private.
Goubing (Sierre)	Link		565	Valais	❌	❌ Bourgeoisie de Sierre	Enf of 12th century	Square	Hauts-Valaisans	Non-conflicting	17.03.2018	Access around impossible because private
Gourze (Tower)	Link		923	Vaud	✔️	✔️ (Municipality)	Before 13th century	Square	Bishop of Lausanne	👍	15.04.2018
Grandson	Link		449	Vaud	✔️✔️	❌ Association	Before 1100 Improved at the 13th and 14th century	Circular	Savoy	☠️	05.02.2017	Vintage car show
Gruyères	Link		832	Fribourg	✔️✔️	✔️	11th century	Circular	Count of Gruyère vassal of Savoy	👍	09.04.2016	Giger Museum
La Bâtiaz (Martigny)	Link		539	Valais	✔️	❌ Association	13th century	Circular	Savoy	☠️	11.06.2017	Siege engines
La Sarraz	Link		504	Vaud	✔️✔️	❌ Fondation	11th to 13th century	Square	Vassal of Savoy	☠️	10.09.2017	Horse museum
Les Clées	Link		625	Vaud	❌	❌	Savoy	Square	Savoy (Châtellerie)	☠️	24.02.2018
Lucens	Link		551	Vaud	❌👁️	❌	13th century	Circular	Bishop of Lausanne	☠️	24.02.2018
Majorie (Sion)	Link		529	Valais	❌	?	Beginning of 13th century	Square	Bishop of Sion	👍	13.02.2018	Museum of Fine Arts
Morat	Link		458	Fribourg	❌	✔️ (Canton)	1180	Square	Savoy	☠️	16.04.2017	District Administration
Morges	Link		374	Vaud	✔️	✔️ (Canton)	End of 13th century	Circular	Savoy (Châtellerie)	☠️	29.04.2017	Military Museums Tops made of brick
Môtiers	Link		840	Neuchâtel	❌	❌	1344	Circular	Counts of Neuchâtel	Non-conflicting	24.06.2018	Bovet Watches
Neuchâtel	Link		455	Neuchâtel	✔️	✔️ (Canton)	12th century	?	Counts of Neuchâtel	Non-conflicting	23.08.2019
Nyon	Link		400	Vaud	✔️	✔️ (Municipality)	13th century	Square	Savoy	👍	14.02.2018	Historical and Porcelain Museum
Ogoz	Link		685	Fribourg	✔️	✔️ (Municipality)	13th century	Square	Local lords	👍	21.06.2017	Visitable ruins
Orbe	Link		485	Vaud	✔️	?	13th century	Circular	Lords of Chalon, allies of Burgundy	☠️	24.02.2018
Oron	Link		717	Vaud	✔️✔️	❌ Association	12th century	Circular	Vassal of Savoy	👍	16.04.2016	Old Library
Rolle	Link		377	Vaud	❌👁️	✔️ (Municipality)	Around 1290	Circular	Savoy	👍	05.06.2017
Romont	Link		782	Fribourg	❌👁️	✔️ (Canton)	1240	Circular	Savoy (Châtellerie)	☠️	22.10.2016	District Administration Vitromusée
Saillon	Link		552	Valais	✔️	✔️ (Municipality)	11th century, improved at 13th, destroyed in 1475.	Circular	Savoy (Châtellerie)	☠️	02.04.2017	Visitable ruins
Saxon	Link		656	Valais	✔️	✔️ (Municipality)	13th century détruit en 1475	Circular	Savoy (Châtellerie)	☠️	08.02.2018	Visitable ruins
Saint-Barthélémy	Link		615	Vaud	❌	?	12th century	Square	Vassal of Savoy ?	?	11.04.2018
Saint-Maire (Lausanne)	Link		533	Vaud	❌👁️	✔️ (Canton)	1396	Square	Bishop of Lausanne	👍	02.01.2018	Tops made of brick
Saint-Martin du Chêne Molondin	Link		619	Vaud	✔️	✔️ (Canton)?	Enf of 11th century	Square 22m	Seigneurs vassaux de la Savoie?	👍	28.04.2018	Visitable ruins Destroyed in 1536 by Bern
Saint-Maurice	Link		417	Valais	✔️	❌ Fondation (Municipality and Canton)	15th century	Square	Savoy	👍	17.09.2016	Drawing and comic book exhibition
Saint-Triphon	Link		477	Vaud	❌	?	12th century	Square	Vassal of Savoy	☠️	08.02.2018	Ruin Non-visitable tower
Tour-de-Peilz	Link		380	Vaud	✔️	✔️ (Municipality)	13th century	Circular	Savoy (Châtellerie)	☠️	19.03.2017	Visitable ruins Game Museum
Tourbillon (Sion)	Link		657	Valais	✔️	?	End of 13th century	Square	Bishop of Sion	👍	13.02.2018	Closed in winter
Valangin	Link		665	Neuchâtel	✔️	❌ Société	12th century	Square	Sires of Valangin	Non-conflicting	13.05.2017
Valère (Sion)	Link		608	Valais	✔️	?	12th and 13th century	-	Bishop of Sion	👍	13.02.2018
Vaulruz	Link		843	Fribourg	❌	✔️ (Municipality)	13th century	Square	Savoy	☠️	10.06.2017
Vaumarcus	Link		481	Neuchâtel	❌👁️	❌		Square	Neuchâtel	☠️	24.03.2018
Vidomnes (Sierre)	Link		544	Valais	❌	❌	1490	Square	Hauts-Valaisans	Non-conflicting	17.03.2018
Vufflens	Link		473	Vaud	❌👁️	❌	1415-1430	Square	?	👍 ?	28.01.2018	Fully made of brick
Yverdon	Link		433	Vaud	✔️	✔️ (Municipality)	13th century Construction ends around 1265	Circular	Savoy (Châtellerie)	☠️	05.02.2017	Museum of Yverdon and region
Tour de la Molière	To visit soon

Légende:

• ❌ Castle not open to the public.
• ❌👁️ Castle not open to visitors but particularly pretty.
• ✔️ Castle can be visited but no longer in its original state.
• ✔️✔️ Visitable castle in a good state of conservation. To be visited first.
• ☠️ Damaged during the Burgundian Wars.
• 👍 Spared during the Burgundian Wars.

The 9 most beautiful castles to visit

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As mentioned above, not all castles in French-speaking Switzerland can be visited. The Torpille team lists below the 9 most beautiful castles to visit in order starting from the most beautiful.

1. Chillon Castle VD
2. Grandson Castle VD
3. Gruyères Castle FR
4. Oron Castle VD
5.  Sarraz Castle VD
6. Aigle Castle VD
7. Valangin Castle NE
8. Tourbillon Castle VS
9. Bâtiaz Castle VS

Chillon Castle

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Chillon Castle is by far the most beautiful castle in French-speaking Switzerland. Located on a rocky island near the shore, it was mainly built by Savoy in the 12th century as a symbol of its power. The visitor follows an signposted path that allows him to discover the entire structure. It is an attraction to see absolutely!

• 🏆 Ranking: ⭐⭐⭐
• 🔗 Chillon Castle
• 📍 Municipality: Veytaux
• 👁️ View: Léman, Dents du Midi, french Alpes
• ⚔️ Surveillance: Road between Pays de Vaud and Chablais-Valais-Great-St-Bernard
• 💪 Strengths: Castle as a whole, underground, keep, ramparts
• 🏃 Open for visits

A sailing boat next to Chillon Castle. On the left is the Chillon motorway viaduct.

A video of Chillon Castle.

Grandson Castle

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Château de Grandson is an imposing monument built on the shores of Lake Neuchâtel. He witnessed the Burgundy Wars, a key event in the history of French-speaking Switzerland and of the whole of Switzerland, which opposed the Swiss to the army of Charles the Bold at the end of the 15th century.

• 🏆 Ranking: ⭐⭐
• 🔗 Grandson Castle
• 📍 Municipality: Grandson
• 👁️ View: Lake Neuchâtel
• ⚔️ Surveillance: West bank of Lake Neuchâtel
• 💪 Strengths: Armor, old cars, treasure of the Burgundy Wars
• 🏃 Open for visits

Chillon Castle from the car park next to the reception.

A video of Grandson Castle.

Gruyères Castle

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Château de Gruyères is built on a hill overlooking the magnificent Gruyère region. It is built next to the old town of Gruyères in which you should not miss to stop to taste a half and half fondue (fondue moitié-moitié) and meringues.

• 🏆 Ranking: ⭐⭐
• 🔗 Gruyères Castle
• 📍 Municipality: Moléson
• 👁️ View: Gruyère region, Pré-alpes fribourgeoises
• ⚔️ Surveillance: Intyamont valley
• 💪 Strengths: Natural environment and old town of Gruyères (fondue and meringues 😋)
• 🏃 Open for visits

Aerial view of the castle of Gruyères with the adjoining old town.

A video of the castle of Gruyères.

Oron Castle

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Oron Castle is a small but very well preserved castle northeast of Lausanne.

• 🏆 Ranking: ⭐⭐
• 🔗 Oron Castle
• 📍 Municipality: Oron
• 👁️ View: Préalpes fribourgeoises, Valais alpes
• ⚔️ Surveillance: Fortified point of the Oron region
• 💪 Strengths: Ramparts under the roof
• 🏃 Open for visits

Oron Castle with its keep on the right.

A video about Oron Castle.

Sarraz Castle

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The Sarraz Castle is a very pretty castle between Yverdon and Lausanne at the foot of the Jura. It has two large towers, partially rebuilt after the Burgundy Wars. In recent centuries, a section of the ramparts has been demolished to bring light into the courtyard.

• 🏆 Ranking: ⭐⭐
• 🔗 Sarraz Castle
• 📍 Municipality: La Sarraz
• 👁️ View: Old town of Sarraz, surrounding region
• ⚔️ Surveillance: Road leading to France via the Jougne pass
• 💪 Strengths: Two magnificent tours, Horse Museum
• 🏃 Open for visits

The castle of Sarraz with its two towers.

A video of Sarraz Castle from a drone.

Aigle Castle

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Château d’Aigle is located in the Chablais region of the Canton of Vaud in the middle of the vineyards. It was conquered by Bern at the expense of Savoy after the Burgundy Wars in the 15th century and then returned to the new canton of Vaud at the end of the 18th century. It houses the Museum of Vines and Wine.

• 🏆 Ranking: ⭐
• 🔗Aigle Castle
• 📍 Municipality: Aigle
• 👁️ View: Chablais region, French, Valais and Vaud Alps
• ⚔️ Surveillance: Rhône valley, roads leading to the Col des Mosses and the Col du Pillon
• 💪 Strengths: Wine and Vine Museum
• 🏃 Open for visits

The Castle of Aigle in the middle of the vineyards.

A video about the castle of Aigle.

Valangin Castle

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Valangin Castle is located between the city of Neuchâtel and the View of the Alps (Vue des Alpes) on the banks of the Seyon Gorge. It has an elegant central structure that serves as a main building and keep that is surrounded by partially ruined walls.

• 🏆 Ranking: ⭐
• 🔗 Valangin Castle
• 📍 Municipality: Valangin
• 👁️ View: Old town of Valangin
• ⚔️ Surveillance: Seyon gorges, Vue des Alpes road – Neuchâtel
• 💪 Strengths: Keep
• 🏃 Open for visits

The castle of Valangin with the surrounding walls.

A video of Valangin Castle from a drone.

Tourbillon Castle

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Tourbillon Castle is located on one of the famous hills of Sion opposite the fortified basilica of Valère.

• 🏆 Ranking: ⭐
• 🔗Tourbillon Castle
• 📍 Municipality: Sion
• 👁️ View: Valère, city of Sion, Rhône valley and Valais Alps.
• ⚔️ Surveillance: Fortified point of the Sion region
• 💪 Strengths: nice structure on top of a hill
• 🏃 Open for visits

The steep path leading to the Castle of Tourbillon.

A video about the castle of Tourbillon.

Bâtiaz Castle

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Overlooking Martigny, the Castle of Bâtiaz dominates the region with its high keep from which one can enjoy a very beautiful view. The castle overlooked the Rhone Valley towards both Sion and Saint-Maurice. He also monitored the path leading to the Great St Bernard Pass to reach Italy.

In the castle courtyard there are interesting reconstructions of medieval war machines such as the trebuchet.

• 🏆 Ranking: ⭐
• 🔗 La Bâtiaz Castle
• 📍 Municipality: Martigny
• 👁️ View: Rhône Valley towards Lake Geneva and Upper Valais, town of Martigny
• ⚔️ Surveillance: Rhone Valley, road to Grand-Saint-Bernard
• 💪 Strengths: Keep
• 🏃 Open for visits

The Castle of Bâtiaz with its imposing keep.

A video about the Bâtiaz castle.

 The 7 most beautiful castles that are not open to visitors

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There are some very pretty castles in French-speaking Switzerland but unfortunately they cannot be visited because they are in private hands or reserved for the district administration. Nevertheless, it is worthwhile to come and see them. The Torpedo lists below the 7 most beautiful castles that cannot be visited in order starting from the most beautiful.

1. Vufflens Castle VD
2. Lucens Castle VD
3. Blonay Castle VD
4. Chenaux Castle FR
5. Champvent Castle VD
6. Vaumarcus Castle NE
7. Bulle Castle FR

Vufflens Castle

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The castle of Vufflens is the most important castle in French-speaking Switzerland with the castle of Chillon. Entirely made of brick, it is particularly impressive with its magnificent structure and imposing keep. It belongs to Saussure’s family.

• 🏆 Ranking: ⭐⭐⭐
• 🔗 Vufflens Castle
• 🧘 Closed to the visit

The castle of Vufflens with its vineyard.

A video of Vufflens Castle from a drone.

Lucens Castle

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Lucens Castle is a very pretty castle located in the north of the canton of Vaud. It impresses particularly by its elegance and in particular its many small side turrets. After the Bernese left, it became the property of the canton of Vaud in 1801, which put it up for sale. Since then, the castle has remained in private hands.

• 🏆 Ranking: ⭐⭐
• 🔗 Lucens Castle
• 🧘 Closed to the visit

The castle of Lucens with its many watchtowers.

A video of Lucens Castle from a drone.

Blonay Castle

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Blonay Castle is a castle built on a hill in the heights of Vevey at the foot of the Pleiades. The Blonay family still owns this very pretty castle, whose keep resembles that of Chillon Castle.

• 🏆 Ranking: ⭐⭐
• 🔗 Blonay Castle
• 🧘 Closed to the visit

The castle of Blonay with its central keep.

A video of Blonay Castle from a drone.

Chenaux Castle

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The Chenaux castle in Estavayer-le-Lac is a castle built by Savoy counts. It houses the administration of the services of the Broye district. The “circuit of the ramparts” of about ½ hour allows you to discover the old defensive structures of the city.

• 🏆 Ranking: ⭐
• 🔗 Chenaux Castle
• 🧘 Closed to the visit

The castle of Chenaux in Estavayer-le-Lac.

A video of the castle of Chenaux.

Champvent Castle

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The Castle of Champvent is located in the immediate vicinity of Yverdon in the north of the canton of Vaud. It is a beautiful building built according to the principle of the “savoy square”.

• 🏆 Ranking: ⭐
• 🔗 Champvent Castle
• 🧘 Closed to the visit

The castle of Champvent near Yverdon.

A video of the castle of Champvent from a drone.

Vaumarcus Castle

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Vaumarcus Castle, located between Grandson and Neuchâtel, is an elegant castle lined with small elongated turrets. It overlooks the vineyard and Lake Neuchâtel. In the 15th century, he witnessed the Burgundian wars.

• 🏆 Ranking: ⭐
• 🔗 Vaumarcus Castle
• 🧘 Closed to the visit

Vaumarcus Castle near Lake Neuchâtel.

A video of Vaumarcus Castle from a drone.

Bulle Castle

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The Castle of Bulle is an imposing castle in the centre of the town of Bulle. It is built according to the “savoy square” model with a powerful keep.

• 🏆 Ranking: ⭐
• 🔗 Bulle Castle
• 🧘 Closed to the visit

The castle of Bulle with the Keep on the right.

A video of an aerial view of the castle of Bulle.