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

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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

Château de Bridoire

Monbazillac is located a short distance to the south of Bergerac.
The castle itself is a listed historical monument, and dates from the 16th century. It is in an early Renaissance style, and is in an attractive wooded setting with far-reaching views across the region. The castle contains some finely decorated rooms and apartments.
But it is for the wine that the Monbazillac region is best known. 3500 hectares of vines produce one of the most widely known (and most highly reputed) dessert (sweet) white wines in the world.
Looking for other excuses to enjoy a glass of the wine - it forms an excellent accompaniment to the local foie gras, and a perfect aperitif if chilled.
Exploring the Chateau de Monbazillac
When you have parked your car in the lovely wooded parking area and set off for the castle the first view of the castle is superb. At the end of a long straight driveway it sits high above the surrounding countryside and its large round turrets and mass of pointy roofs and leaded windows give it something of a fairy tale appearance.
MonbazillacThe chateau was built in 1550 and miraculously has come unscathed through the various wars and revolutions that have followed this period of history.
On visiting the Chateau de Monbazillac there are three floors to explore. Whilst the chateau was built as a defensive chateau with towers, a moat, arrow slits and battlements, it incorporates the early Renaissance styles of architecture with large windows. The rooms, therefore are lovely light and airy rooms.
On the ground floor are the reception rooms with their beautifully polished wooden floors and 17th century furniture.
The main room on the first floor is the Mounet-Sully hall which contains some huge dark pieces of Italien-baroque style furniture which once belonged to Mounet Sully, a famous French actor who was born in Bergerac. Next to this room, in the tower, is a lovely collection of white porcelain from Limoges which also belonged to Sully.
On this floor is also the Viscountess' bedroom, again with 17th century furniture and in the tower next to this are some wooden engravings with scenes of the Apocalypse.
My favourite room on this floor is the SEM hall which is filled with original cartoons drawn by SEM, a famous caricaturist who was born in Perigueux. These are great cartoons of French gentlemen and ladies during the end of the 19th century. For those of you interested in SEM (real name Georges Goursat) there is a little museum of his at La Casssange near Saint Genies. SEM was responsible for the drawing on the menu of Paris' famous Maxims restaurant.
As well as the room of SEM cartoons the 'Rodolph Germain Hall' contains changing displays of modern art by way of temporary exhibitions.
The basement of the chateau gives you a chance to see row upon row of 'liquid gold' - Monbazillac's famous sweet white wine. There is a small museum of wine related tools and you can also see the chateau kitchens and some wonderful huge pottery storage containers.
Not surprisingly after your visit there is a cave where you can sample the wines, and plenty of opportunities to purchase some.
Wandering round the castle from the outside offers some great views over the surrounding countryside.
https://www.northofthedordogne.com/monbazillac.php

Château de Monbazillac

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

Le château de Bouniagues est situé en Périgord pourpre, sur la commune française de Bouniagues dans le département de la Dordogne, en région Nouvelle-Aquitaine.
L'édifice est protégé au titre des monuments historiques pour la porte Renaissance du presbytère, située sur la tour extérieure.
Architecture
La bâtisse dite « La Baume » ou « Labaulme », est datée du xve siècle (1489). De plan rectangulaire, elle comprend des fenêtres Renaissance, avec des croisées à meneaux. La tour polygonal. attenante au château sur la façade sud rappelle la vocation défensive de l'édifice.
Cette tour abrite un escalier à vis en pierres, auquel on accède par la porte d'origine, inscrite au titre des monuments historiques par arrêté du 27 janvier 1948; au-dessus de cette porte est sculpté un blason représentant deux corps de lions aux têtes de créatures difficilement identifiables. Le château ayant appartenu à la famille de Saint Ours, il a été émis l'hypothèse qu'il s'agirait de deux têtes d'ours.
Ce blason fait écho aux armes reproduites sur le linteau de la porte intérieure, menant à la salle du quatrième niveau. Sur les façades sud et nord, l'édifice est percé de fenêtres de style Renaissance, surmontées d'arcatures. Les cheminées présentes à l'intérieur datent du xive siècle.
Le château possédait à l'origine un niveau supérieur, avant d'être abaissé d'un étage. Il reste encore quelques marques de ce niveau aujourd'hui disparu. Aux angles se trouvent les vestiges des deux tours en encorbellement découronnées. C'est sur cette même partie ouest que le château a abrité un presbytère à partir du xixe siècle.
La partie centrale comprend la tour d'escalier polygonale avec un porche en arc brisé rappelant, par sa forme très particulière, le porche de Lanquais. Hormis ces deux sites, il n'existe pas d'autre porche semblable dans le Périgord. Il s'agirait de l’œuvre du même artiste.
Histoire
Au fil des siècles, le château de Bouniagues dévoile certains faits marquants de son histoire.
De la fin du xve siècle et jusqu'après le xviie siècle, les seigneurs du château (Charles, Pierre, Isaac, Louis puis Jean de Solminihac) étaient une branche de la maison de Solminihac (dont le plus ancien de la lignée connu aux Archives nationales fut Mathieu de Solminihac (1165-1195).
Au début du xviiie siècle, à la suite du mariage le 17 août 1701 d'une demoiselle de Solminihac (Marie-Charlotte, fille de Jean de Solminihac) avec Pierre de Saint Ours, seigneur de Clermont, écuyer, capitaine de dragons au régiment de Saint-Sarlin, le château passa aux mains de la famille de Saint Ours5. Cette union donna naissance à trois enfants, dont Henri de Saint Ours en 1703. En 1732, Henri (seigneur de Morin) épousa Marie de Cosson de La Suderie, née en 1716 ; ils eurent un fils en 1738, prénommé Pierre.
En 1793, ce même Pierre de Saint Ours, chevalier de Saint-Louis, seigneur de Bouniagues, la Baume, la Jaubertie..., capitaine au régiment de Beauce, est trahi par un de ses domestiques. Il est bâillonné et garrotté durant son sommeil. Après le pillage du château, les sbires du tribunal révolutionnaire de Bergerac le mettent avant le jour sur une charrette avec Anne de Sirvain, sa femme, et leurs huit enfants. Ils étaient déjà près de Bergerac quand accoururent les paysans de Bouniagues, armés de fusils, de piques et de faux qui les délivrèrent à l'approche du bourg de la Madeleine. Après avoir mis en fuite les agents de la Révolution, ils ramenèrent au château de Bouniagues toute la famille de Saint Ours qu'on n'osa plus inquiéter. Pierre de Saint-Ours décéda en 1806 à l'âge de soixante-huit ans.
En 1875, le maire de Bouniagues, Martial Delpit de Castang, acheta le château et en rétrocéda une moitié (la partie ouest), à la commune de Bouniagues, qui y installa le presbytère.

Château de Bouniagues

The Château de Montaigne is a castle mansion situated on the borders of Périgord and Bordelais, near Bergerac and Saint-Émilion, in the small commune of Saint-Michel-de-Montaigne in the Dordogne département of France. The structure originated in the 14th century and was the family residence of the Renaissance philosopher and thinker Michel de Montaigne.
History
Built in the heart of a majestic park, whose layout was designed by the philosopher himself, the residence was acquired in 1477 by the great-grandfather of Michel, Ramon Eyquem, a Bordeaux trader, who thus acquired the hereditary title of Seigneur de Montaigne ("Lord of Montaigne").
Michel's father, Pierre Eyquem, settled in the castle with his family, and there Michel spent a studious childhood—he is said to have spoken Latin until the age of six—before leaving to continue his studies in French at the college of Guienne in Bordeaux.
In 1584, Montaigne entertained in his castle the king of Navarre, Henri de Bourbon, the future Henry IV, and thus became a close royal friend at the same time as Condé, de Rohan and Turenne. Henry IV had already named him gentleman of the chamber (French: gentilhomme de sa chambre) by a patent letter of 1577.
From 1571 until his death in 1592, Michel de Montaigne wrote his famous Essays (French: Essais), major works of humanism of the renaissance, and fruits of a lifetime of reflection and reading.
After Montaigne's death, his widow Françoise de La Chassaigne continued to reside in the castle. She entertained there Marie de Gournay, whom he had befriended in 1588 during a voyage to Paris, and to whom he had sent an annotated copy of the Essays requesting that she take care of its publication (which did not happen until fifteen months later).
In 1860, Pierre Magne, minister of Napoleon III, bought the castle. He withdrew there after the 16 May 1877 crisis and became generally distant from the meetings of the Senate. He died of disease on 17 February 1879.
The castle was completely rebuilt after a fire that seriously damaged it in 1885.
Architecture
The architecture of the extant chateau has a neo-renaissance flavour. After crossing the gate, one arrives in a square court surrounded by ramparts. The round tower of the library is the only vestige of the 16th century and is a popular location for visitors of the castle. It is said that Michel de Montaigne composed his Essays here.
Since 2009, Château de Montaigne has been listed as a monument historique by the French Ministry of Culture.

Château de Montaigne

The Château de Montréal is a château in the Dordogne department located near the commune of Issac, in southwestern France. It overlooks the valley of the Crempse River.
It was built as a castle in the 12th century and rebuilt in the 16th century. It has been classified as a monument historique by the French Ministry of Culture since 1948. It is now a private residence.
History
Claude de Pontbriand, the Seigneur de Montréal, accompanied the French explorer Jacques Cartier on his expedition up the Saint Lawrence River, and was with him on October 3, 1535, when he reached a village of the unknown nation called Saint Lawrence Iroquoians, called Hochelaga, on the site of the present day city of Montreal.
The Pontbriand family built the château in its current form. They also built the chapel Sainte-Épine They modernized the double walls of the ramparts, which are very well preserved. and add the Renaissance style facade of the residence. The house is open for visits in summer- it is possible to visit the salons, which have a collection of portraits, and the circular library in the tower.
Gardens
The gardens were built upon the ramparts of the fortress at the beginning of the 20th century by Achille Duchêne. The lower garden is in the Italian style, and features hibiscus and yew trees, and walls covered with white roses and white clematis. The upper garden is a Garden à la française, with ornamental flower beds and a topiary garden. The garden was badly damaged by a storm in 1999, and has been replanted. The gardens are classified by the Committee of Parks and Gardens of the Ministry of Culture as one of the Notable Gardens of France.