Source: the venue’s website, checked on 01/11/2026.
In a forest in the Yonne, some forty workers have been building a 13th-century castle since 1997, with the materials and skills of the period. In 2026 the joiners are lining the chamber of the lodging with oak panelling, and the blacksmiths are making the 2,000 nails needed to fix it.
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The idea was born in 1995 at the château of Saint-Fargeau. Maryline Martin, who still leads the venture, wanted to offer people “training, a real job and a long-term horizon”. Fifteen trades work side by side, and with the archaeologists of Inrap they rebuilt a flour mill from the remains of a 12th-century mill found in the Jura. A team watches stonemasons, carpenters and blacksmiths depend on one another on a work measured in decades.
For a group of 20 or more, admission is €15 per adult, one adult free for every twenty, and a visit takes at least four hours. The 75-minute guided tour costs €190 for up to 50 people, the stone-carving workshop €8.50 more per person. In 2026 the site is open from 2 April to 1 November. The nearest station, Cosne-sur-Loire, is 25 km away, with no shuttle.
Photo credits : Benoît Prieur (Wikimedia Commons, CC0) ; Schorle (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0) ; Skouame (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0) ; François de Dijon (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0)
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