Château de Courcelles

En un regard

Le château en bref

The Château de Courcelles is a 17th-century château located in Courcelles-sur-Vesle, in the Aisne department. Built between 1690 and 1694 for Baron Jacques de La Grange, it displays Louis XIV-style architecture. In the 18th century, the estate became a place of social gatherings frequented by figures of the Enlightenment such as Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Denis Diderot and Voltaire. Occupied by the German army during the First World War, it escaped major destruction during the Battle of the Chemin des Dames. After the Second World War, the couturier Christian Dior held receptions there, and the decorator Jean Cocteau is said to have drawn the banister of the main staircase. Since 1988, the château has been run as a hotel with a gourmet restaurant, and it has been a member of the Relais & Châteaux network since 1992. Its 25-hectare park, designed by the landscape architect Deshayes de Soissons, combines a French formal garden, an English-style garden, a hornbeam maze and an ornamental pond inspired by Versailles.