Château de Septème

Septème

Built on the site of a Roman military camp established at the seventh milestone of the Vienne–Milan road (hence its name), the Château de Septème preserves the traces of more than a thousand years of successive fortifications. A first square castle is attested by charter as early as 1066, before the Beauvoir family and then Philip of Savoy, who acquired it around 1249, took control of it. At the end of the 13th century, under Savoyard rule, a powerful curtain wall about a kilometre long was raised here; the 15th-century fortress adopted an irregular quadrangular plan flanked by corner towers around a substantial keep. In the 16th century, Louis Adhémar de Grignan thoroughly remodelled the interior, adding Renaissance galleries and raising the keep with arcaded galleries in 1535.

Getting there : Ramparts and remains of the first castle listed as a monument historique; château, gatehouse and park registered; open to visitors, with theatrical and musical events. Approximate coordinates (centre of the village).

Opening times and access details are given as a guide only: check before you set out.

Ambient sound