Château fort de Bouillon

The Royal Syndicat d'Initiative de Bouillon, founded in 1906 as a walking committee, has operated the castle since 1919. With volunteers and the castle team it organises the tours, the bird of prey show of master falconer Ivan, the Light Odyssey, the town's museums and Bouillon's best-known festivals, such as the Medieval Festival and the Hunting Festival. In 2023 the castle received more than 130,000 visitors.

The castle

The fortress has stood for more than a thousand years on three rocky ridges, and its highest point is 75 metres above the River Semois, which loops around the town. The visit is self-guided: the Austria tower, with a 360-degree view over the medieval town; the underground passages; the torture chamber; the Godfrey room, dedicated to Godfrey of Bouillon, the knight of the First Crusade; and the drawbridge. During the holidays you can walk through it at night with a torch in hand.

Birds of prey and shows

The falconry show is held in the main courtyard from 22 February to 11 November, every day at 11:30, 14:00 and 15:30, with one more session at 17:00 at weekends in April, May, June and September and daily in July and August. It lasts about half an hour. It is run by Ivan, who has been the castle's falconer for more than twenty years, with falcons, vultures, bald eagles, owls, little owls and African eagle-owls. The Light Odyssey is a light and sound show booked separately online.

How it works

The only ticket is the City Pass: from 12 November to 31 March, €12 for adults and €9.50 for ages 4 to 12, with the castle, the Scriptura museum, La Collection and the Bouillon Medieval Experience; from 1 April to 11 November, the City Pass +, €16 and €12, which adds the falconry and the Light Odyssey. It is bought online or at the ticket office on the day of the visit; passes do not expire and are not named. Dogs, drones and tobacco are forbidden in the castle.

Groups and schools

For groups it offers a private guided tour of an hour or an hour and a half, with falconry and Scriptura included, and a guide for €50 or €60; a night tour with torches from 20 people, with an hour of guiding; a two-hour treasure hunt for children aged 4 to 12, useful for birthdays; and the Pass Chevalier, a school route through three historic sites with educational material. Each guide takes up to 35 people, and 25 on the Pass Chevalier. You book from the castle's website. The website does not say in which languages the guided tours are given; Bouillon is in French-speaking Wallonia.

The festivals

During the year the syndicate organises the Medieval Festival, the Hunting Festival (in 2026, on 10 and 11 November), Halloween at the castle, a gastronomic walk, a cheese festival and the concerts of Les Musicales de Bouillon. The dates are announced in the agenda on its website.