Château de Maintenon

This is a beautiful chateau to visit if you are in the Paris or Normandy regions and do not have time to go to the Loire Valley and visit the "fairy tale" castles there. What also makes Chateau de Maintenon special is that it is famous for housing Louis XIV's "secret wife" Francoise d'Aubigne the future Marquise de Maintenon.

The original tower dates back to the Middle Ages in the 13th century. In 1509 the Treasurer to Louis XII, Francois I and Henri II, Jean Cotterreau, took ownership and enlarged the castle. In 1674 Francoise d'Aubigne bought the estate and left her mark on the building and the parc. Years later, Madame de Maintenon gave the property to a niece and the property changed hands down through the family until 1983. That is over 300 years of one family's occupation and so the collection is quite extensive.

The self-guided tour takes you through the chateau, both courtyards and the grounds. The parc is particularly beautiful with the tapis vert marked with the intertwined L's (for Louis XIV)and a canal that was to originally connect the river Eure to Versailles.

For more info, please visit the Château de Maintenon website.