Château de Sablé-sur-Sarthe

Sablé-sur-Sarthe

Now a setting for rare books, the château combines classical majesty with a quiet heritage vocation.

Rebuilt at the very beginning of the 18th century for Jean-Baptiste Colbert, Marquis de Torcy, Louis XIV's Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, the Château de Sablé-sur-Sarthe adopts a sober classical architecture of brick and tuffeau limestone. Bought by the State, it has housed since 1993 a conservation centre of the Bibliothèque nationale de France devoted to rare heritage collections, notably those from the old library of the nearby abbey of Solesmes.

Getting there : State property; since 1993 it has housed the conservation and restoration centre for the heritage collections of the Bibliothèque nationale de France

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

Ambient sound