Sleeping in a Castle - Caen, France (#1)

I’m nerding out. I may go LARP at any moment and start running around with a toy sword screaming battle cries in Tolkien-ese.

The bell in the cathedral sounds 11pm as we settle down in our sleeping bags in the moat of Chateaux Ducal de Caen. The moat is dry nowadays, and is dark and screened by trees from the busy night life of the city.

(Top: looking out through the gate of Chateaux Ducal at the Caen Cathedral.)

It has been a long day of shameless tourist gawping. We left our backpacks hidden outside the city in some bushes beside the road, so we could move around unencumbered, and its a good thing because we have walked about 8 kilometers just seeing the Castle and Cathedral.Chateaux Ducal is one of the largest intact castles in Europe. It was founded in the 13th century. Additions and renovations were made over the following 300 years by successive occupants. During the 15th century the Castle was a stronghold of the British occupiers of northern France. Intensely loathed by the French, the British added many security features to the castle, including a second layer of fortification at the front gates.

William the conquerer built the small original hall and keep, and all that is left of that structure are ruins, which were long buried under the courtyard of the larger, later buildings. The stone walls are massive, towering 4 stories above the outside ground, with towers, ramparts and keeps which soar even higher.For centuries the walls of the chateaux joined to the walls of the city, creating an enclosed fortification of several square kilometers, which would have presented a challenge to even the most determined medieval army.

Standing on the battlements looking down at the surrounding countryside, I get a sense of the strategic might of this castle. The view stretches beyond the Caen city limits in every direction, and an attacking force would have been visible while they were still two days march away.

The castle is open all day and night, 7 days, and admission is free!
With a bit of bravado we also walked into the historic art museum without tickets, and saw the collection of 16th century etchings which gave a powerful insight into the psychology of the people who lived in Chateaux Ducal 500 years ago. Recurring themes are: martyrdom, surreal depictions of afterlife torture, vanity portraits of wealthy men, and homoerotic scenes from ancient Greek mythology.