Photo : Henry Salomé / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)
Château de Villiers-le-Mahieu
The Château de Villiers-le-Mahieu, in the Yvelines, looks like a medieval fortress because it was built in 1642 using the remains of a 13th-century castle, on whose foundations it stands. Its moats and many turrets give it a particularly feudal and picturesque character.
In 1919 it was bought by Doctor Velter, who farmed the 150 hectares of land around it. In 1965 Count Charles de Rohan-Chabot undertook major restoration work, lasting until 1970, which gave the château its present appearance. The famous French painter Bernard Buffet lived here from 1971 to 1979. In 1980 Jean-Luc Chaufour took over the château, west of Paris, and carried out major interior and exterior work to adapt the medieval site to modern needs and create a luxury château hotel.
