Chateau de Villette is greater than a French manor house — it is a walk through history.
In-built the late seventeenth century with the assistance of Jules Hardouin-Mansart and Andre Le Notre, each of whom were instrumental in constructing the world-renowned Palace of Versailles, the chateau features seven suites within the major house, each extravagantly designed within the era of Louis XV.
The grounds aren’t any less lavish, set atop 75 hectares of woods, with multiple lakes and ornately sculpted gardens.
Once fertile ground for visits from intellectuals like Thomas Jefferson and Thomas Paine, the chateau’s guests of today include celebrities like Tom Cruise and writer Dan Brown, whose bestselling book “The Da Vinci Code” was changed into a movie that was shot at the placement.
A significant selling point of the chateau is its history, but many modern wonders were added following a serious renovation after the house was purchased by The Heritage Collection in 2011, said Suzanne Isore, who wrote a book on the history of the chateau.
“You would possibly not consider this, but right under my feet is a marvel of hydraulic engineering. It’s a 15-ton block of stone which descends to disclose the chateau’s swimming pool,” she told CNBC.
Situated some 40 minutes from Paris’ city center, the chateau rents for nearly $270,000 per week.
Watch the full video to see the exquisite interiors of Chateau de Villette.
