After 700 Years in One Family, This Burgundy Château Comes to Market
Held by one family since the 14th century, the French château—listed as a Historic Monument (Inscrit au titre des Monuments Historiques) —was built in the early 17th century and redecorated in the 18th century.
Located in historic Burgundy near Sens, the estate is 124 km (77 mi) from Paris—about 1h20 by road and ~1h10 by train—and set at the end of a 500-metre (0.31-mi) approach within 60 hectares (148 acres) of land, and an additional 95 hectares (235 acres) of rented farmland.
Surrounded by centuries-old trees and formal gardens and overlooking a canal and the remnants of a medieval moat, the château presents a symmetrical brick-and-stone façade centred on a coat-of-arms portal beneath a marquis’ crown, flanked by two round towers. There’s a grand double-flight exterior staircase, similar to the one at Château de Fontainebleau, some 65 km (40.4 mi) away.
Inside, the château spans 1,500 m² (16,146 ft²) of living space with 14 bedrooms and several principal rooms, including a triple-aspect salon of about 90 m² (969 ft²) with eight tall windows, herringbone parquet and paired marble fireplaces; a second large dual-aspect salon; a music room; an oratory; and both tower and winter dining rooms. The garden-level tower contains a recently fitted kitchen with an AGA and its own timber staircase linking to the tower dining room.
A central stone staircase with a wrought-iron balustrade connects the levels, overlooked by a stained-glass window. The first floor arranges six mainly east-facing bedrooms, several with 18th-century boiseries, trumeaux and marble chimneypieces; one alcove bedroom retains a painted trumeau. The second floor sits beneath an exposed roof frame with two library rooms and additional bedrooms, including a tower room.
Below, the stone-vaulted cellars include a guard room with a large fireplace—dating to the 14th century and supported by four Fontainebleau sandstone pillars—alongside a wine cellar, an office with an 18th-century fireplace and a recent Viessmann oil-fired boiler room. The north tower, overlooking the former moat, is configured to run semi-independently with its own boiler room and a bedroom.
Outbuildings offer further accommodation: a converted dovecote apartment (kitchen, living room, bedroom), a three-bedroom caretaker’s house with garage, and a cottage with new windows and roof ready for interior restoration. Two gated drives serve the grounds, which include lawns, woodland, bridleways, a vegetable garden and a greenhouse to restore.
The sale includes about 40 hectares (99 acres) of land (unleased). By separate negotiation, there is an option to acquire about 115 hectares (284 acres) of leased agricultural land attached to a rented farm.
Shops and services are within ~10 km (6.2 mi); Sens is ~30 km (18.6 mi) and Fontainebleau ~65 km (40.4 mi). At the crossroads of Île-de-France and Burgundy, Sens combines practical access—124 km (77 mi) from Paris; TER to Paris-Bercy in ~55–75 min—with heavyweight heritage at Cathédrale Saint-Étienne. Weekend options range from canal cruising and cycling on the Burgundy and Nivernais canals to tasting trips in Chablis, Irancy, and Saint-Bris.
All photos courtesy of the listing agency.
