About a kilometre outside Villars, the appealing Château de Puyguilhem (early Feb to March & mid-Nov to Dec Tues–Thurs & Sun 10am–12.30pm & 2–5.30pm; April–June & Sept to mid-Nov daily 10am–12.30pm & 2–6pm; July & Aug daily 10am–7pm; €5) sits on the edge of a valley backed by oak woods. The building you see today was erected at the beginning of the sixteenth century on the site of an earlier and more military fortress. With its octagonal tower, broad spiral staircase, steep roofs, magnificent fireplaces and false dormer windows it's a perfect example of French Renaissance architecture. From the gallery at the top of the stairs you get a close-up of the roof and window decoration, as well as a view down the valley, which once was filled by a lake.In the next valley, and very much worth a visit, the ruined Cistercian Abbey of Boschaud lies on the edge of the woods, reached by a lane not much wider than a farm track. Its charm lies as much in the fact that it is – for once – unfenced, unpampered and uncharged for, as in the pure, stark lines of its twelfth-century architecture. Alternate spellings:: France, Château de Puyguilhem, Château de Puyguilhem, Chateau de Puyguilhem
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