The Château de La Voulte is a fortress of Haute-Auvergne whose history is marked by exceptional continuity.
Established on a strategic site overlooking the Authre valley, the castle is attested from the Middle Ages and was rebuilt in the fifteenth century on earlier structures, without any break in function or use.
Across the centuries, La Voulte remained a place where authority was exercised — military, administrative, and judicial — in the service of legitimate power. This stability, rare at the regional scale, explains the preservation of the site through the great crises of history, from the Hundred Years’ War and the Wars of Religion to the Revolution.
With its restrained architecture, well-adapted defensive systems, and carefully measured transformations, the château retains the coherence of a fortress conceived to endure and adapt rather than to impress.
The transition from a feudal castle to an armed stronghold, then to noble residence, and finally to a country retreat with gardens and flowing fountains, can be read directly in the stone, through a remarkable architectural continuity.
You may observe the functioning of a royal fortress at the end of the Wars of Religion and trace eight centuries of history in the company of crusader knights, bailli of Haute-Auvergne, captains and governors of fortified places, royal councillors, chamberlains and gentlemen of the royal household, seneschals and governors of Rouergue, royal officers, and a deputy to the Estates-General of 1789 — all loyal to the Crown, all lords of La Voulte.
You will also discover the transformations carried out in the 1920s by Frédéric François-Marsal, senator of Cantal, minister of Finance, president of the Council, who even briefly assumed the interim presidency of the French Republic in 1924.
Continuously inhabited and carefully maintained, the Château de La Voulte may today be discovered during occasional openings, through guided tours focused on the history, functions, and institutional continuity of the site.
Open from 1 May to 1 November 2026 on:
– Wednesdays and Sundays
– Two tour times: 2:30 pm and 4:00 pm
2026 season rates
– Adult: €10
– Child (6–12): €6
– Child (0–6): free
VIP visit by reservation (2 hours, including gourmet tea) with the owner: €25 per person.
N.B. Please check the website or call in advance to confirm that visits are running.
Kindly leave your vehicle in the school car park after the bridge.