Château de Breteuil, Vallée de Chevreuse, France

Château de Breteuil is built on a promontory overlooking the Chevreuse Valley. For most of its existence, the castle has been known as Bévilliers -from latin bis villae (two villas)- which implies that this property would date back to the gallo-roman period.

The first estate appears in History as early as 1066 with Guillaume Osbern, the first Breteuil, who was Seneschal to the Duke of Normandy. Guillaume Osbern took part in the conquest of England by William the Conqueror, who saw him as his most faithful companion. In the summer of 1067 the King returned to Normandy, leaving the Lord of Breteuil and his brother in charge of England in his absence.

At the time, a fortified castle was built in Bévilliers; its dovecote and moats still remain today. In 1596, Thibaut Desportes bought the estate still called Bévilliers. Bordered by medieval square moats, a new castle was laid out around an enclosed courtyard, A pleasure garden was carefully thought out, situated at the foot of the north facade, so that the sun never glares into the eyes of the person contemplating it.

The curtain walls were removed and moat dried in 1820-1830. The major restoration took place in the end of the 19th century: two wings were added and the gardens were extended.

References:

Wikipedia

User Reviews

Steve S (11 months ago)
Simply wonderful ! A great place to visit. You will enjoy the tour of the château, 4 centuries of history laid out in front of you. The park is magnificent and children of all ages will be captivated by the tales of Perrault. The guides are so knowledgable and helpful, it"s a real treasuree and a privilege to visit. Merci Monsieur le Marquis ! Your chateau is amazing *****

Funke Eric (2 years ago)
I never heard of this castle until today but it is beautiful, even in winter. There's a ton of history here, all explained by a guided tour with actual knowledge of the place. In winter it will be the castle itself that you want to see, in summer I imagine walking for hours in the gardens. Playground, very clean toilets, splendid views, picnic areas, it's all here.

Peef (2 years ago)
The castel itself is ouside beautiful, inside less interesting. The gardens surrounding the castle are great!

dan dare (2 years ago)
The antithesis to our recent visit of Versilles!! Friendly & quiet, peaceful beautiful gardens, helpful & interesting guides & a real sense of a family residence open to the public. We were lucky & did meet the Marquis who gave us some history about the Chateau during our tour & then we chatted to him after our visit. A real thoughtful effort has been put into entertaining children, who would no doubt be bored by the tour very quickly otherwise. I found the early refrigeration system particulary interesting in the kitchen!! I got a real sense of the history of the place from the furniture & artifacts which are genuine to the Chateau itself, often unlike in other places, which are an assembly of disparate period pieces. So glad we stumbled across this visit :)

Juan García (Juan García) (2 years ago)
One of the best châteaux I’ve visited in France. It’s history is tighly linked to the French history. Quite surprising ! It’s definitely worth it!

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