The Region possesses a splendid array of castles, Renaissance châteaux and mansions, ranging from the forbidding medieval fortress to the hospitable halftimbered country residence with its thatched roof. The age of those Dukes of Normandy who were also kings of England has left behind it some impressive masterpieces of military architecture, such as the castles at Caen and Falaise (Calvados), the Château Gaillard at Les Andelys and the castles of Gisors and Harcourt (Eure). Renaissance and post-Renaissance residences open to visitors include the châteaux at Balleroy, Fontaine-Henry, Lantheuil, St-Germain-de-Livet (Calvados); Bizy, Champ-de-Bataille (Eure); Tourlaville; Bourg-St-Léonard, Carrouges, Mortrée and Sassy (Orne), and Bailleul and Ételan (Seine-Maritime); also the Hôtel de Beaumont at Valognes (Manche), the 17 th Century stud farm buildings at Le Haras du Pin (Orne) and the Manoir d'Ango at Varengeville (Seine-Maritime). The castles or châteaux now housing museums include those at Caen, Crèvecoeur-en-Auge and Pontecoulant (Calvados); Beaumesnil and Vascoeuil (Eure); Bricquebec (Manche); Flers and Tesse -la-Madeleine (Orne); and Dieppe, Eu and Martainville and the Castle of Robert the Devil in the Seine-Maritime. Some of these historic buildings house exhibits associated with famous men, as at Fervaques (Henri IV and Châteaubriand), Vascoeuil (Michelet) or Miromesnil (Guy de Maupassant).
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