Three-day road trip in Normandy: from Balleroy to the Pays d'Auge via Caen

Three-day road trip through the châteaux of Calvados, from Balleroy to Saint-Germain-de-Livet

Three-day road trip in Normandy: from Balleroy to the Pays d'Auge via Caen

A three-day drive in the Calvados region: Balleroy and its Le Nôtre gardens, Fontaine-Henry and its towering roofs, Caen’s fortress, then Saint-Germain-de-Livet and the château du Breuil in the Pays d'Auge.

Editorial journal · Carte des Châteaux ·

From the classicism of Mansart to the glazed bricks of the Pays d'Auge, Calvados packs almost a thousand years of architecture into three days. This road trip follows a simple thread, from west to east: Balleroy and Fontaine-Henry on the first day, the grand fortress of William the Conqueror in Caen on the second, then Saint-Germain-de-Livet and the château du Breuil on the third. It is aimed at those discovering Normandy by car and seeking to alternate famous monuments, lived-in châteaux and a gourmet detour, without rushing from one visit to the next.

Château de Balleroy

CALVADOS · Balleroy

Château de Balleroy

Built between 1626 and 1636 for the de Choisy family under the direction of the young François Mansart, the Château de Balleroy ranks among the first great classical compositions in Normandy, extended by gardens by André Le Nôtre. Acquired in 1970–1971 by the American Malcolm Forbes, it has since housed a Balloon Museum devoted to the Montgolfier brothers, a testament to its owner's passion for ballooning.

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Château de Fontaine-Henry

CALVADOS · Fontaine-Henry

Château de Fontaine-Henry

The Château de Fontaine-Henry is located in the French commune of Fontaine-Henry, in the Calvados department, in the Normandy region. Like a Loire Valley château that has strayed into Normandy, this building of medieval origin is famous for its façades, marked chiefly by the Louis XII and Renaissance styles. With its tall French-style roofs rising to nearly 15 metres above the quadrangular "Gros Pavillon", the building is also regarded as having the highest roofs in France. By closely examining all of the masonry and comparing the estimates and plans of the 18th and 19th centuries, Bertrand Jestaz attempted to reconstruct the successive building phases of this accumulation of residential wings. His conclusions were later taken up by Jean-Pierre Babelon. The Château de Fontaine-Henry was listed as a historic monument by a decree of 5 April 1924. This listing was replaced by a new decree on 22 November 2011. The building is today surrounded by an English-style landscape park, which was also listed as a historic monument in 1959.

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Château de Caen

CALVADOS · Caen

Château de Caen

Established from 1058–1060 onwards by William the Conqueror to make Caen a second ducal capital, this 5.5-hectare castle ranks among the largest medieval fortresses in Europe. Remodelled by Henry I Beauclerc and then by Philip Augustus, it now houses the Musée de Normandie (opened in 1960) and the Musée des Beaux-Arts (opened in 1970), as well as a sculpture park and medieval gardens open to the public.

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Château de Saint-Germain-de-Livet

CALVADOS · Saint-Germain-de-Livet

Château de Saint-Germain-de-Livet

The Château de Saint-Germain-de-Livet, in the Calvados department, stands on the site of a 12th-century fortress of the Tyrel family, which passed by marriage to the Louvet family and then, in 1462, to the Tournebu family through the marriage of Jeanne Louvet and Pierre de Tournebu, who built a large half-timbered manor house there. Around 1584, Jean de Tournebu and his wife Marie de Croismare had the present château built, with its famous chequerboard façade of green glazed bricks from the Pré-d'Auge and white Caen stone; an Italian-style arcaded gallery was added in 1588. Owned by the Tournebu family until 1810, then by the Foucault family, the château became a municipal museum of the town of Lisieux in 1957.

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Château du Breuil

CALVADOS · Breuil-en-Auge

Château du Breuil

The Château du Breuil, in Breuil-en-Auge in Calvados (not to be confused with the other châteaux du Breuil in France, notably those of Cheverny in Loir-et-Cher or in Saône-et-Loire), is a family property with buildings from the 16th and 17th centuries, surrounded by a 28-hectare flowering park planted with centuries-old trees. Held by the same family line for 400 years, the estate, a listed historic monument, today houses "La Spiriterie française", a distillery producing Calvados Pays d'Auge, Pommeau and various liqueurs. It offers bilingual guided tours tracing the history of the estate and the secrets of production, as far as the ageing cellars enhanced by a sound-and-light show. A shop, cocktail bar, tea room and cafeteria complete the offering.

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The route on the map

Map of the route

Markers follow the suggested visiting order. Select a castle to open its page.

Day by day

The itinerary

1

Day 1 morning: Balleroy

Classical composition by Mansart, Le Nôtre gardens and Balloon Museum.

Château de Balleroy
2

Day 1 afternoon: Fontaine-Henry

Renaissance façade, some of France’s tallest roofs, 72-hectare park with maze.

Château de Fontaine-Henry
3

Day 2: Caen château

Ducal fortress of 5.5 hectares, Normandy Museum and Fine Arts Museum.

Château de Caen
5

Day 3 afternoon: château du Breuil

Family estate and Pays d'Auge Calvados distillery, 28-hectare flower-filled park.

Château du Breuil