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French castles

Best French châteaux ranking

The community has spoken. Discover the world ranking, compare it to yours and see how everyone else voted.

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65contenders high-voltage

628votes

2TopList

0commentsUpdated on 10/16/2026 at 11:00 PM

Château de Versailles1786

The worldwide ranking generated by 628 votes

65 / 65

Château de Versailles1786

Château de Maintenon1755

Château d'Ussé1689

Château de La Ferté-Saint-Aubin1687

Château de Fontainebleau1675

Château de Meillant1662

Château de Hautefort1657

Château de Chantilly1636

Château de Chambord1633

#10

Château de Chaumont-sur-Loire1611

#11

Château de Haroué1608

#12

Château de Saumur1608

#13

Château de Carcassonne1604

#14

Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye1600

#15

Château de Cheverny1585

#16

Château de Pierrefonds1583

#17

Château de Suscinio1570

#18

Château de Villandry1570

#19

Château d'Amboise1567

#20

Château de Vaux-le-Vicomte1563

#21

Château de Chinon1556

#22

Château de Cadillac1553

#23

Château de Brissac1545

#24

Château de Blois1542

#25

Château de Biron1535

#26

Château de Vincennes1535

#27

Château de Bussy-Rabutin1533

#28

Château de Beynac1523

#29

Château de Loches1506

#30

Château de Rambouillet1504

#31

Château de Foix1500

#32

Château de Sully-sur-Loire1494

#33

Château de Cazenac1485

#34

Château de Kerjean1481

#35

Château de Val1480

#36

Château de Langeais1478

#37

Château de Cormatin1477

#38

Château de La Roche-Guyon1471

#39

Château de Sceaux1467

#40

Château de Valençay1461

#41

Château de Puilaurens1459

#42

Château de Fougères1455

#43

Château d'Anet1454

#44

Château d'Azay-le-Rideau1449

#45

Château de Roquetaillade1446

#46

Château de Chenonceau1444

#47

Château de Josselin1432

#48

Château de Guédelon1430

#49

Château de Montpoupon1424

#50

Château de La Rochefoucauld1420

#51

Château du Haut-Kœnigsbourg1418

#52

Château d'If1402

#53

Château de Compiègne1400

#54

Château de Quéribus1396

#55

Château de Bonaguil1394

#56

Château de Lastours1374

#57

Château de Peyrepertuse1368

#58

Château de La Brède1357

#59

Château de Châteaudun1354

#60

Château de Malmaison1348

#61

Château du Clos Lucé1324

#62

Château de Castelnaud1306

#63

Château de Commarque1270

#64

Château de Murol1223

#65

Château de Montségur1194

What the community says

Rank your favorite French châteaux from Versailles and Chambord to hidden gems across the Loire Valley. Which historic castle reigns supreme?

How this ranking is computed

Every duel won lifts a contender and every loss drops them, by an amount that depends on the opponent's strength: beating the leader is worth more than beating the last. It is an ELO, the same principle as in chess. Duels are not drawn at random — an adaptive entropy sort puts the least predictable match-ups first, which settles the ranking far faster than a full round robin. A worldwide ranking is only published past 30 completed plays. Known limit: a contender who has faced few opponents keeps an approximate score, and the bottom of the table moves more than the podium.

How our rankings are made →