Chateau de Villette

Chateau de Villette is one of the most complete surviving expressions of eighteenth-century France, recognised as a site of cultural significance since 1942 and held to museum standards ever since. It sits in the Ile-de-France countryside roughly forty minutes from the Champs-Elysees, close enough to Paris for an evening in the city, far enough for total calm.

The interiors have drawn comparison to Versailles for good reason. Original parquetry, masonry and millwork frame salons attributed to Jules Hardouin-Mansart, and the rooms are dressed in period furnishings and fine art of royal and auction-house provenance, curated by the interior designer Jacques Garcia. Guests arrive into the octagonal Grand Salon, which turns between the formal dining room and the grand staircase; six suites occupy the main chateau with further rooms in the left wing, sleeping thirteen in all.

The grounds run to 180 hectares of managed woodland and take in two lakes, a cascade fountain, an eighteenth-century chapel, an orangery and a heated pool. It is a natural setting for private celebrations as much as for a quiet week living well.

180 hectares of parkland · Two lakes and a cascade fountain · Original period interiors · Heated pool · Forty minutes from Paris · Orangery and private chapel