How to get to the Château de Castelnaud
Making a day of it?The castle's own ticket is bought at the gate, so what is worth booking ahead is the rest of the day: the river under the walls, the valley from the air, a guided run out from Sarlat, or the rival castle across the water. Every option cancels free up to 24 hours before.
Check availabilityBy car
The two motorway exits the castle names on its own access page are Souillac on the A20 and Sarlat-la-Canéda on the A89, and from either the last stretch is departmental road through the valley. Sarlat-la-Canéda is about nine kilometres away, measured from its tourist office, and is where most visitors sleep, eat and start the day. No highway authority publishes a road distance from Castelnaud to Beynac on the far bank, so none is printed here; the two are in sight of each other and the bridge is the long way round. Open 24250 Castelnaud-la-Chapelle in Google Maps.
Where the car stops, and where the walk starts
There are two answers, and they are fifteen minutes apart. The municipal car park above the castle is paid and a three-minute walk from the gate. The car park along the Dordogne is free and a fifteen-minute walk up through the village. Those are the castle’s own words for both, and choosing between them is the only real decision in the approach. Every car park, and the walk from each.
By bus
Transpérigord runs the regional network, and the two lines most useful to a visitor without a car are Souillac–Sarlat and Périgueux–Sarlat, both of which deliver you to Sarlat rather than to the castle. The line that actually stops at Castelnaud is 338, Sarlat–Castelnaud, and it runs in July and August only. For the other ten months of the year no scheduled bus reaches the village, so a day built around one needs the current timetable read first.
On foot, and on the water
Two waymarked paths pass: the GR 64 long-distance route and the local PR 14. Walkers arrive at the village from the valley rather than from a car park, which changes the order of the day but not the climb at the end of it. The other arrival worth knowing about is by river. The canoe run from Vitrac passes directly beneath the walls, and the fifteen-kilometre châteaux route names Castelnaud in its own description, alongside La Malartrie and Fayrac. Both paddling routes, explained.
Without a car at all
Outside the July and August bus window, the practical answers are a taxi from Sarlat or a guided day that does the driving. The half-day tour leaves Place Pasteur in Sarlat, walks Beynac village for three quarters of an hour, rides a gabarre at La Roque-Gageac and spends most of the afternoon at Domme — it does not go into Castelnaud. The private tour picks up in Sarlat, Les Eyzies or Saint-Cyprien and includes a guided hour inside a castle, at Beynac for most of the year. The two guided options, side by side.
Half dayFrom Sarlat: Beynac & Domme Tour & Dordogne Boat Ride
Private guideSarlat: Private Tour to the Dordogne Valley
Let the driving be someone else’s problem
Four hours from Place Pasteur in Sarlat with an English-speaking guide: Beynac village on foot, an hour on a gabarre at La Roque-Gageac and a hundred minutes in Domme. Minimum two adults, from around a hundred and ten euros, free cancellation up to 24 hours before.
Frequently asked questions
How far is Castelnaud from Sarlat?
About 9 km, measured from the Sarlat-la-Canéda tourist office. Sarlat is also where the guided days and the private tours start. Tours from Sarlat.
Can you get to the Château de Castelnaud without a car?
In July and August, bus line 338 runs Sarlat–Castelnaud. For the rest of the year no scheduled service stops in the village, so a taxi from Sarlat or a guided day is the workable answer.
Which motorway exit is nearest to Castelnaud?
Souillac on the A20, or Sarlat-la-Canéda on the A89 — the two the castle names on its own access page. Where the castle sits on the map.
Is there parking at the Château de Castelnaud?
Yes, two kinds: a paid municipal car park above the castle, three minutes from the gate, and a free one along the Dordogne, fifteen minutes below. The full picture.