Château de Dourdan

Dourdan Castle, between Paris and Chartres, was built in 1220 on the orders of King Philip II Augustus and is a textbook example of an early-13th-century royal castle. Its square plan with four round corner towers, a freestanding donjon and a moat modelled on that of the Louvre later passed through hands including the Duke of Berry and saw several modernisations. In the 17th century it was used as a prison, which both altered and preserved it. Today it houses the Musee de Dourdan with local archaeology and crafts; visitors can climb a spiral staircase up the donjon for a good sense of medieval defensive architecture.