Château de Couanac, castle in the Lot département of France

Château de Couanac stands at Varaire on the causse de Limogne, built on the site of an earlier castle for Raymond Hébrard de Saint-Sulpice in the early 16th century. Three wings of pale masonry with dark steep roofs enclose a courtyard open to the east; a tall square tower with a pyramidal roof and machicolations rises beside a round tower with a conical roof, and a smaller round tower and chimneys mark the lower southern range, Château Bouscary. The chapel occupies the transept of a 12th-century Romanesque church of Saint George, its triumphal arch columns rising from the crypt, where former owners are buried. The south façade has mullioned windows and dormers with pediments, and several rooms keep plafonds à la française.

The castle was built in the 16th century by the Hébrard de Saint-Sulpice family, incorporating parts of a Romanesque church from the 12th century. The structure was modified over centuries by successive families until it was designated as a protected monument in 1974.

The castle functioned as both a place of worship and a noble residence for generations. The chapel inside still shows Romanesque features, revealing how religious and domestic spaces were intertwined in medieval life.

The castle stands on the causse de Limogne, 2 km north-west of Varaire via the RD 52 road. It is private property but opens to visitors during the good season, and it also operates as a farm inn with gîtes. The buildings are arranged around a courtyard open on the east side.

The castle displays unusual architectural layers where a Romanesque church, Gothic elements, and Renaissance details coexist in a single structure. The crypt beneath the ground holds carved Romanesque capitals that reveal how different architectural styles were layered over centuries.