Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye — Attraction in Saint-Germain-en-Laye

The first castle, named the Grand Châtelet, was built on the site by Louis VI in around 1122. The castle was expanded by Louis IX in the 1230s.

Louis IX's chapelle Saint Louis at the castle belongs to the Rayonnant phase of French Gothic architecture. A 1238 charter of Louis IX instituting a regular religious service at the chapel is the first mention of a chapel having been built at the royal castle. This was a Sainte Chapelle, to house a relic of the Crown of Thorns or the True Cross. Its plan and architecture prefigure the major Sainte-Chapelle which Saint Louis built within the Palais de la Cité at Paris between 1240 and 1248. Both buildings were built by Louis's favourite architect Pierre de Montreuil, who adapted the architectural formulae invented at Saint Germain for use in Paris. A single nave ends in a chevet, with almost all the wall areas filled by tall thin glass windows, between which are large exterior buttresses. The ogives of the vault rest on columns between the bays and the column bases are placed behind a low isolated arcade. The building can thus be open and empty of all internal supports. This large number of windows is also enabled by the pierre armée technique, with metal elements built into the structure of the walls to ensure the stones' stability. The west wall is adorned by a large Gothic rose window in the "rayonnant" Gothic style. It was in this chapel in 1238 that Baldwin II of Constantinople presented Louis with the relic of the crown of thorns and, though they were intended for the Sainte-Chapelle in Paris, they were housed here until the Paris chapel was consecrated in April 1248.

The castle was burned by the Black Prince in 1346; of it, only the Gothic chapel remains from the site's medieval phase. This Château Vieux was rebuilt by Charles V in the 1360s on the...

The outside of the castle is very nice. They are currently cleaning the outside, and it is about 2/3 clean. The grounds are lovely, and there is a small playground, with swings, for the littles. There were also pony rides.

The inside of the castle was...okay. It is actually a museum (poor research on my part), so much of the original interior architecture is no longer there. The walls/floors all look like they were redone in the 80s...carpet tiles, newish wooden planks, some original stone tiles and some new. It was apparently converted into a hospital at some time in the past, so much of the original look was lost. Additionally, you can only access the 1st and 2nd floors. It looks like there is one more floor up that cannot be accessed, and much of the ground floor is also not viewable. About half of it is currently used for a special exhibition, bit the other half looks like it is used for a library, a meeting room, and perhaps offices (not sure) that are not viewable.

The museum part was interesting - lots of 1st and 2nd iron age items, bronze age items. Very good historical museum. But, again, if you're looking for interior architecture, you will be sadly disappointed.

I do not recall seeing an elevator (though I didn't specifically look for one), so if you have mobility issues, you may want to call to double-check that you can get to the upper floors.

Overall, I would say it's good to visit once, but probably not one I will come back to (inside) a second time. Would come back to visit the garden/play areas, though, if I were in the area.

Also, unrelated to the castle, but good to know - the weather is beautiful, but WINDY. Definitely...

First of all, it is important to be aware that although this building is a castle, the interior is purely modern museum and there is no real trace that this was once a castle. I thought it would be a museum inside a castle where you would be able to experience a castle while enjoying a museum, but it really just feels like a museum inside any regular modern building (though it is an interesting castle to look at from the outside). That said, the museum has some cool artifacts. However, the arrangement of the museum was really confusing to me. It didn't seem to be chronological (though I felt like I was going backwards in time for most of it). There's no obvious route to travel and there are random dead ends where you just end up back tracking through the entire exhibit that you just looked at. (I recognize that they may not be able to change the dead ends, but they could arrange things so you go up one side and back down the other.) The gardens outside the castle are fabulous. They are beautiful with many interesting paths and a beautiful view of Paris looking out over the valley at the back...