Château d'Anet

Anet

King Henri II had this château built around 1547 for Diane de Poitiers, who had inherited the seigneury of Anet on the death of her husband Louis de Brézé in 1531, on the site of a medieval fortress of Charles the Bad. The architect Philibert Delorme designed the whole as a U around a main courtyard, with the collaboration of the sculptor Jean Goujon and the painter Jean Cousin, creating one of the masterpieces of the early French Renaissance. The central block and the right wing were demolished in 1804; only the left wing and the domed chapel survive today. The entrance gateway once held a famous automaton depicting a stag surrounded by hounds, whose head and leg moved to strike the hours.

Getting there : Listed as a monument historique; private property of the de Yturbe family since 1998, open to visitors part of the year

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

Ambient sound