Château du Marais

The Château du Marais, at Le Val-Saint-Germain in the Essonne, is approached by an avenue of plane trees that Chateaubriand wrote had survived the Revolution, and that the fabulist Florian likened to paradise.

To the right of the avenue, a pinkish-ochre building, the oldest on the estate, is a former mill that often hosts exhibitions. To the left stand a 12th-century tower converted into a dovecote, then the 17th-century part that houses the museum.

The park and gardens form a green setting around the whole. Surprisingly large, the park combines the old woodland park and former meadows: between the shade of trees that are often several centuries old, the coolness along the moats and the sunny paths, the walk is pleasant in any weather.

← Other sites in Essonne