# What's the difference between a castle and a palace? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 21, 2007, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-difference-between-a-castle-and-a-palace/401019 "2007-04-21T00:44:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Sal\_Ammoniac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8dc957/32.png) [@Sal\_Ammoniac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sal_Ammoniac)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2007, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-difference-between-a-castle-and-a-palace/401019/21 "2007-04-23T16:26:17Z")
It’s worth mentioning that in French, there’s a distinction between a _château fort_, and a mere _château_. I’d translate the first as the English “castle,” meaning a fortified outpost of the medieval period, while I’d call _châteaux_ those confections on the Loire. These days, of course, damn near every winery in France calls itself Chateau this-or-that, and some of these _châteaux_ are nothing more than glorified warehouses. The Biltmore Estate? I’d simply call it “palatial” (or maybe “baronial”), as someone mentioned above. In other words, it’s neither a palace nor a castle. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2007, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-difference-between-a-castle-and-a-palace/401019/22 "2007-04-23T16:55:34Z")
Would anyone know what Biltmore might sell for, furnished as is, on the open market today? Just ballpark. Millions? Maybe tens of millions? I’m not sure how you value things like Napolean’s chess set. ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2007, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-difference-between-a-castle-and-a-palace/401019/23 "2007-04-23T17:21:01Z")
In England, we’d call it a stately home. ---
**Author:** ![crazyjoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f14d63/32.png) [@crazyjoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crazyjoe)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2007, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-difference-between-a-castle-and-a-palace/401019/24 "2007-04-23T21:44:57Z")
[QUOTE=Liberal] Would anyone know what Biltmore might sell for, furnished as is, on the open market today? Just ballpark. Millions? Maybe tens of millions? I’m not sure how you value things like Napolean’s chess set. [/QUOTE] I think tens of millions is probably very low. Of course, it assumes a pool of incentivized buyers, of which there are probably very few, but still, it would probably go for a hundred mil or more, easily. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2007, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-difference-between-a-castle-and-a-palace/401019/25 "2007-04-23T21:53:28Z")
Think of a Palace as a Tuxedo, & a Castle as Armor. Both can make you look dashing, in _different_ ways… ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2007, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-difference-between-a-castle-and-a-palace/401019/26 "2007-04-23T22:40:03Z")
[In France, a _palais_ is always urban, a _chateau_ always rural.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palais) A [_chateau_](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chateau) can be a fortified or unfortified country mansion; if fortified, it is a _chateau fort._ [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-difference-between-a-castle-and-a-palace/401019.md?page=1)