Guédelon — Attraction in Auxerre

This is the 5th time we have visited and it was by far the most disappointing. We arrived intending to eat our lunch in the car park then enter the park around 2 pm. However due to the large car park expansion the car park picnic area has been removed. The picnic area was now in the park and eating there would have meant carrying the picnic bags in to the park and taking them back to the car before our visit. Getting in to the park was speedy and without real issue but once inside things became very difficult - a vast number of buses had brought a very large number of school aged visitors to the park - far too many for the park and the number of staff Guedelon had working. Visiting the Castle was a health and safety nightmare with large unsupervised groups of children charging around inside the Castle walls. Almost every child and every second adult wore rucksacks - adding to the congestion within the narrow walls. This was made even worse by several dogs on leads being with the people in the Castle building! Guedelon Staff did not seem as plentiful or as knowledgable as they had been in the past. The only apparent staff visitor interactions seemed to be those staff imparting information to parties of School children! The catering within the park was a bit of a letdown too - no milk for coffee - and for what it was very expensive! The work going on to build the Castle is extraordinary and we have loved watching it grow over the years but I fear it will be a long while before we return to see how it is going...and we will be counting the number of buses before we pay for...

This place is a living museum and it is great. The craftsmen here are reconstructing a medieval castle using the same tools, materials, and methods they used in the middle ages during the reign of Philippe II.

They have been working on it for years and years, and the castle will be completed in a few years (2025 was an estimate given by a mason working there)

Around the castle you will find all sorts of workshops where they are crafting the tools and materials needed to create the castle. You will find things like a smith, a carpenter, a quarry, a mortar maker, a stone worker, a dye and paint maker, a watermill, and many more things.

The people working there are all dressed in medieval clothes, and they are happy to explain the things they're working on and teach you the techniques. It is super interesting, but you will have a hard time talking to the craftsmen if you do not speak French. There are signs all over the place in both French and English, but the staff only speak French.

You will also find more modern facilities near the entrance, such as a restaurant and a souvenir shop, and they also have a decent number of bathrooms. The place is a great place to bring kids, and you can easily spend a full day there, but keep in mind though that the ground is very uneven and not great for strollers, prams, or wheel chairs.

The restaurant is very expensive, and the servings are tiny, so I really recommend that you bring your own food. There are plenty of picnic areas at the place and you are welcome to bring your own food and drink if you...

Interesting concept, using medieval methods to recreate a medieval chateau. I couldn't help but wonder if this was conceived a a genuine research experiment or as a serious commercial exercise; if the number of visitors we experienced is typical then it certainly succeeds as the later. The crowds meant we had to park in the hastily constructed overflow car park which felt like it was about 1km from the entrance, this wasn't so bad as we need to exercise off the great food from the previous evening not to mention the substantial breakfast, however it is worth spending time in the car park to watch the attendants trying to deal with the volume of cars coming in, it was a farce with cars being directed into parking areas with no spaces and no exit except the way in although this was no blocked by further cars being misdirected. Actually I was glad I didn't spend too long laughing at this comedy as I would have missed the medieval workers who all stop for lunch between 1 and 2 and that would have been a mistake as it was fascinating watching the skills required to make a rope or split wood for tiles or to carve a mantle out of stone, amazing! The chateau is coming on a treat and should be finished by 2020 hopefully by this time they'll have sorted out the parking. Seriously it is a good half day out, take a...