Lenzburg Castle

Lenzburg Castle sits on a lone wooded hill in the middle of the Aargau plain, and the site has been built on since long before the stone castle went up. What stands now is a knot of buildings from several centuries around a courtyard: a keep, a chapel, a knights' hall, later residential wings added by owners who lived there into modern times. The rooms are laid out as a museum of the canton, with sections on the hill's early occupation, the medieval household and the later families. Outside, the rampart walk runs round the hill with the plain and the Jura ridge in view.

What you actually see

• The courtyard - buildings from several centuries facing each other around one small yard.
• The knights' hall and chapel - the medieval core with painted ceilings and heavy timber.
• The rampart walk - the circuit round the hilltop looking over the plain to the Jura.
• The museum floors - rooms on the canton's history and on the hill's earliest settlement.

When to go

The castle is closed for much of the winter and opens from spring to autumn, so check before travelling out of season. Weekends draw families, since a good part of the display is aimed at children. The walk up through the woods is pleasant in autumn colour and shaded in high summer.

Honest expectations

The interior is a mix of periods that never quite settles into one story, and the children's sections take up space that adults will walk past. The path from the station is a steady climb of twenty minutes, with a road for cars but limited parking. Signage in English is patchy, and the museum text assumes local knowledge.

Nearby

The Roman town of Augusta Raurica and the old town of Aarau are both within easy reach.