Originally built during the 12th Century, the Castle was turned into an impregnable fortress in the early 14th Century by Bertrand de Got the then owner. He was the nephew and namesake of Pope Clement V who gave his support to the work.
The Durfort family acquired the Castle before the start of the Hundred Years War (1337-1453) during which time it was under the control of first, the Duke of Aquitaine, King Henry II of England, and then the French King, Louis VII the younger.
First auction sale, 1961Envied by many noble families, Duras (the Durfort family), was granted the status of a Duchy at the end of the 17th Century. The Castle slowly became a superb country mansion, rather than a fortress with stables, formal gardens, and a huge reception area, the Hall of the “Three Marshals”, and enjoyed all the pomp and circumstance of the Age of Enlightenment.
It was partially destroyed and plundered during the French Revolution (1798) and fell into disrepair. The village people eventually bought the ruins at a public auction in the 1960’s. (Auction by Candle!)
It is now a jewel in the cultural heritage crown of Aquitaine and a very popular tourist attraction which awaits your personal “conquest”!
http://uk.chateau-de-duras.com

Château de Duras

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The Château de Pitray (built in the 17th century) is in the village of Saint-Seurin-de-Prats, Aquitaine, France, overlooking the Dordogne river.
The name comes from Pic du Roy, or king’s peak, since the house was built on an ancient tumulus also known as Mothe de Prats, signifying that it was on land a little higher than the plain. "On 8 August 1626, here I built this home" is engraved in old French on the one of the stone building blocks.
It belonged to the Puch family before being acquired by Gabriel de Ségur, seigneur of Pitray. From there it passed on to Pierre de Ségur, son of Thomas, co-seigneur of Pitray, and to his daughter Henriette, married to Alexandre de Puch in 1715, whose descendants remained in possession of the property until 1900. Pierre de Ségur, chevalier of Pitray and a lieutenant in the Koenigsmark Cavalry Regiment, distinguished himself during the dragonnades, or persecutions directed against Protestants during the reign of Louis XIV.
Originally the main part of the house consisted of two wings of equal size in the shape of perpendicular rectangles, delimiting the courtyard opening out onto the Dordogne River. Pitray became the property of Doctor Samuel Amanieux at the end of the 19th century and in 1905, a Bordeaux architect joined the two wings by a massive flat-roofed building and an Italianate terrace lined with pilasters.
Over the last 25 years, the Château de Pitray has become a venue appreciated for organizing business meetings and all types of seminars, conferences, and especially concerts.

Château de Pitray

Château de Lauzun, a rustic castle in the south-west of France, has actually played host to real royalty, not just the Hollywood variety.
The château was visited by Henry IV, the first Bourbon king of France, and Catherine de Medici, the 16th-century queen, regent and mother of three kings of France. Now it is up for sale for £5.4 million (Dh29.4m) and it has a very unique feature.
"It's very unusual in that it is actually two châteaux put together," says Jelena Cvjetkovic, of the upmarket estate agency Savills. "They are adjacent but you could say there are two wings."
A five-bedroom medieval château, which has been extensively restored, dates from the 15th century and a second château was constructed in 1570 along the property's eastern perimeter. The so-called Renaissance château was designed to be a statement of the owner's power and wealth, according to Savills.
In addition to a great hall, the Renaissance château also features a king and duke's bedchambers, and two bedrooms which have been converted from a chapel.
The property also boasts a swimming pool and a large two-storey barn, which is currently being used to store classic cars.
"The vendor is also prepared to sell one of his vintage cars [a Bentley or a Rolls-Royce] by separate negotiation," says Ms Cvjetkovic, who suggests the château would be ideal for somebody looking to invest into a wedding venue.
"The main château hasn't got a huge number of bedrooms. You have a barn that you could renovate and get more bedrooms in but it's in a village, which means that there are places for guests potentially to stay," she says.
"A reception room means the venue could operate year-round, but a lawn at the front of the château could be used on a good day for the ceremony."
https://www.thenational.ae/business/wedded-bliss-in-a-royal-french-ch%C3%A2teau-1.297699

Château de Lauzun

The chateau dates back to the 12th century and has an attractive facade with stone walls, deep perigordine roofs, turrets and extensive grounds. Many of the rooms have been renovated and furnished allowing you to step back in history.
The kitchen is a large room with a domed roof and a huge open fireplace once used to cook the meals for the chateau's inhabitants. Now it is often used to make crepes and biscuits that you can buy. Hung on the walls and ceilings are an assortment of copper pans and various other kitchen utensils are on display.
The elegant dining room lined with gleaming wood panneling has its large table set as if ready to entertain at any moment and a large and elegant salon also has lovely wood panneled walls.  Other rooms include a games room, an armour room with a full knight and horse's armour and a bedroom.
Down in the stables is a large games room and outside both in the courtyard and outside the castle there are loads of games to play. These are all traditional games and make the castle a great place to come with children.
Games include giant chess, archery and many games of skill, strength or dexterity.
In July and August there is a restaurant in the courtyard of the chateau with a simple but tasty menu of quiches, sandwiches, salads and cakes, crumble or ice-cream.
A little history
The Chateau de Bridoire dates back to the 12th century and has had 10 diffferent families living here. It was once visited by Henri de Navarre before he became King Henri IV of France.
Fighting has taken place here between the French and the English and between Catholics and Protestants.
In recent years the castle was vandalised and plundered for 22 years before it was eventually protected by the state and bought by the Guyot family who renovated the castle and are the current owners.
https://www.northofthedordogne.com/chateau-de-bridoire.php