Château de Beaufort, Medieval castle in Goudet, France

Château de Beaufort is a ruined castle perched on a rocky peak overlooking three valleys and the Loire River in Goudet. The site displays square foundations and vaulted rooms that reveal fortification work carried out across different construction periods.

Built around 1200 to control the upper Loire valley, the castle was besieged several times, notably by the English during the Hundred Years' War, and held military importance again in the Wars of Religion. In the 16th century Antoine de la Tour added a horseshoe-shaped tower at the south-western corner, a tower at the north-western corner and a false braie with a corner tower. It was called Château de Beaufort until the Revolution, and a Dame de Beaufort still lived there in the 18th century; it was a ruin by the early 19th century.

The castle displays medieval military design through its square layout and vaulted rooms, revealing construction methods used across different time periods. The remaining walls tell the story of the craftsmen who built and later modified the structure.

The site has been privately owned since 2008 and opens to the public on a calendar updated each year, so check the current dates before setting out. The ruins stand on a rocky headland above Goudet, reached on foot; the ground is uneven and the walls are unconsolidated in places.

The castle was besieged several times, notably by the English during the Hundred Years' War, but the sources do not record its capture. Its ruins were quarried by local inhabitants for dressed stone, and a cistern on the site was long mistaken for a dungeon. From 2000 to 2005 the consolidation works hosted workshops on medieval building, including a medieval crane called a squirrel cage.