A classical château near the battlefield where Henri IV won a famous victory in 1595.
€245one way from Beaune with a private driver
Private driver from Beaune: 1 h 09 by road (90 km), €245 one way for the whole car.
Coming by train or plane? Transfers from stations and airports →
Near the old frontier with Franche-Comté, Fontaine-Française combines a classical château, a formal park of 372 clipped lime trees and the memory of a famous battle. On 5 June 1595 Henri IV defeated the Catholic League and its Spanish allies nearby. The château is still lived in and opens in summer.
The medieval castle, probably built in the early 13th century, had a walled enclosure with corner towers and a keep. In the 16th century its co-lords included Cardinal Claude de Longwy de Givry and his niece Françoise de Longwy, wife of Admiral Philippe Chabot. The cardinal transformed the castle around 1540 to 1550, and King Francis I stayed here in 1534 and 1535.
On 5 June 1595 Henri IV won the battle of Fontaine-Française against the League and the Spanish army. The fighting took place east of the village, and the king himself charged into the fray to rescue his outnumbered advance guard. Once Franche-Comté became French in 1678, the fortress lost its role on the border. In 1754 François-David Bollioud de Saint-Jullien, receiver general of the French clergy, decided to turn it into a more comfortable classical residence.
The Parisian architect Souhard carried out the work over four years, reusing much of the old walls. Madame de Saint-Jullien welcomed writers from her Paris salon, including Voltaire, her friend and correspondent for twelve years, and Madame de Staël is said to have begun her novel Corinne here in 1805. The château later passed to the Chabrillan family, whose arms now decorate the pediment. It was classified in 1945 and its park in 2023.
The château has a central block with two wings around a courtyard. Its windows, 4.5 metres high, are decorated with allegorical masks, and a dome with two clocks rises above the centre. Inside, a double stone staircase leads to a long gallery. The formal park has 372 lime trees trained as arcades, clipped yews and a monument to Henri IV.
Guided tours leave the reception about every 40 minutes.
Checked on on the official site.
The château and park are open from July to September: Wednesday to Sunday in July and August, and at weekends in September. The château can only be seen on guided tours, which leave regularly from the reception, while the park is free to enter. Allow about an hour and a half.
What to combine with Château de Fontaine-Française on the same day, nearest first.
Château de Fontaine-Française is about 1 h 09 from Beaune by road (90 km). With a private driver, the trip from Beaune starts at €245 for the whole car, up to 4 guests.
Did you know? A small monument in the park, topped by a bust of Henri IV and a trophy of arms, recalls his victory of 5 June 1595 on the plain east of the village.
Sources
€245 one way from Beaune · up to 4 guests
