Burgundy's first neoclassical château, with a coloured stucco salon and a landscape park.
€180one way from Beaune with a private driver
Private driver from Beaune: 52 min by road (61 km), €180 one way for the whole car.
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Some 12 km from Dijon, the Château d'Arcelot is one of the most accomplished examples of French classicism in Burgundy. Built between 1761 and 1765 by the architect Thomas Dumorey for Philibert Verchère, it keeps a salon of coloured stucco and a landscape park with a lake. It has stayed in the builder's family ever since.
The first buildings, two pavilions housing a hunting lodge and a chapel, were built between 1711 and 1720 by Philibert Verchère. His grandson Philibert II, a councillor at the Parlement of Burgundy, commissioned the present château from Thomas Dumorey, a royal engineer as well as an architect. Built between 1761 and 1765, it is considered the first neoclassical château in Burgundy. The chapel itself goes back to the 13th century.
The formal garden planted in 1760 was turned into a landscape park in the early 19th century by Louis-Antoine Verchère, following plans still kept at the château. In 1781 Antoine-Louis Verchère raised a black marble mausoleum for his wife in the chapel. When Guillaume Verchère died childless in 1870, he left Arcelot to his nephew Ernest de Carrelet de Loisy, whose family still owns it.
Dumorey placed the new house between the two pavilions of 1711, which were meant to be demolished but were kept and harmonised. The château has a fine stone staircase with elegant wrought-iron railings and a grand salon of 1764 to 1765 with coloured stucco imitating marble, by the German stuccoist Reuscher. The chapel, founded in the 13th century, was redecorated in the 18th.
Guided tours start at 11:00, 14:00, 15:00 and 16:00, and only in the afternoon on Sundays.
Checked on on the official site.
Guided tours of the château run in July and August from Wednesday to Sunday, with access to the park included in the ticket. Children can join a costumed tour. Groups can visit all year by appointment. Picnics are not allowed in the park, but tables are provided near the entrance.
What to combine with Château d’Arcelot on the same day, nearest first.
Château d’Arcelot is about 52 min from Beaune by road (61 km). With a private driver, the trip from Beaune starts at €180 for the whole car, up to 4 guests.
Did you know? The park includes a lake with two islands and once had a rustic folly housing an ice house, a dairy and a larder, typical of the country fashion of the time.
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€180 one way from Beaune · up to 4 guests
