Merlin's Castle at Pierrefonds

---

It's not always easy to convince our kids to discover some culture. Since they're so young, they would rather spend their time on playgrounds ;-)

But when we told them we were going to visit Merlin's Castle, they were very excited. And when we mentioned the rumors of a dragon inside the castle, they definitely wanted to search the dragon!

The official name of the castle is "Château de Pierrefonds" (Castle of Pierrefonds). But it is better known as Merlin's Castle because it served as Camelot for the BBC series Merlin. Some say it's the most beautiful fortified castle in France.

Pierrefonds itself is a rather small village of which the main attraction is the castle itself. It has a nice center where we strolled around and eat a little bit. In this way we were prepared for the search for the dragon...

In the 12th century a castle was built at Pierrefonds. In 1616 the castle was besieged and demolished by Louis XIII. The ruin got forgotten until Napoleon I bought it in 1810. Afterwards the castle was restored by Viollet-le-Duc. Some critics say that instead of restoring the castle to its original form, Viollet-le-Duc imagined how the castle ought to have been.

When you enter the castle you find yourself at a large courtyard. From there you can visit the different parts of the castle. Besides a chapel, there are also several ceremonial halls. The castle is also known for its art plumbing. There are many statues that you can admire over there.

In search for the dragon, we also visited the cellar. But apparently, he must have taken a day off, since we couldn't find him. Although our oldest child insists that she heard him somewhere down there in the cellar... So please let us know if anyone should encounter the dragon ;-)

---