Best places: Fortresses in Metropolitan France

Fortification built in the 1930s as part of the Maginot Line defenses, with guided tours for groups.

Vast, fortified WWII complex with bomb launcher turrets, guns & underground train, for guided tours.

Citadel surrounded by double walls 3km in length, dotted by 52 towers, founded in Gallo-Roman times.

👍👍 The fortress was built in 1938 and is part of the French Maginot Line in Rohrbach les Bitche, approx. 35 km from Saarbrücken. It consists of 3 above-ground blocks and is connected to each other at a depth of 25 meters. It was designed for 175 soldiers and houses a modern kitchen and an electricity p...

Imposing 16th-century castle occupying a tiny rocky island, accessible by boat for tours & events.

👍👍 It is definitely worth a visit. The entire fortification and the engineering behind ist are truly impressive. You get a picture on how the soldiers in the fort lived, how the chain of command worked and how the entire line of defense was organized. About the end you get to see first hand how a comba...

Small, inhabited island with 11th-century, Romanesque abbey & the highest tides in Europe.

Hulking medieval fortress perched on a riverside clifftop, with a Romanesque keep & frescoed chapel.

A walled island town with ramparts built in the Middle Ages, cobbled streets & half-timbered houses.

Cable car ride to hilltop, 19th-century military fort with a watch tower, dungeon & panoramic views.

Sandstone castle with a 14th-century network of walls, dungeons & towers plus medieval war engines.

City fortifications built between the 3rd to 17th centuries, including medieval gates & towers.

Château built into a rock cliff in the 14th century, with period interiors & a torture exhibition.

Late 19th-century fort used in the WWI Battle of Verdun, with a German cemetery & guided tours.

👍👍 A very nice spot to visit, stroll through or chill at. It’s free to enter, you could do a guided tour if desired but there are enough information signs to give you the basic history updates about this place. There are some shops and restaurants within the citadel walls but they are touristy, althoug...

Expansive views from the ruins of a hilltop fort, reached by a steep trail from the village below.

Tours of a hilltop fortification first built in Roman times & subsequently rebuilt in wood & stone.

Group of 4 part-ruined medieval forts, linked by a hilltop trail, once host to crusader knights.

👍👍 This place is a nice short train ride from Paris. $20 round trip. Once there you can easily walk around the city. This was the closest we could get to a catsle in the short time we were in Paris. Ramparts were really neat. They were free to walk up to and on.