Château de Pirou, Medieval castle in Pirou, France

Château de Pirou is a shell-keep castle built of rough grey and tan stone, standing on a platform in the middle of an artificial pond. Its curtain walls enclose two residential houses, from the 16th and 18th centuries. A stone bridge has replaced the drawbridge, and a round tower with slit openings rises on one side.

The castle was built to monitor the English Channel coast and protect the city of Coutances and its harbor from medieval invasions. Over the centuries, the structure evolved as Normans shaped and reshaped the region.

The castle's barn displays a locally made tapestry in the style of the Bayeux Tapestry, covering events from the Viking landings in the Cotentin to the Norman conquest of southern Italy. The legend of the geese of Pirou, in which the besieged lord and his family became geese to escape the Normans, inspired a 2006 musical staged at the Château de Flamanville because Pirou was too small.

The site is relatively open and easy to walk around, with paths leading across the moats and toward the various gates. It is best to wear comfortable shoes, as the ground can be uneven and the tour unfolds mostly in the open air.

The legend says the lord and his family became geese to escape besieging Normans, using a wizard's book. Returning a year later, they found the book had burned with the castle, so they stayed geese. The tale is told to explain why wild geese stop in the Cotentin each March.