The Château de la Roche Courbon, known as the Sleeping Beauty’s Castle, is an elegant château with beautiful French gardens that pre-date those at Versailles. The château was originally built during the 15th century, but its current style is down to Jean-Louis de Courbon who transformed it during the 17th century.

The Courbon family held onto the château during the Revolution but it was later sold, and too costly to run, was left to ruin. It is known as Sleeping Beauty’s Castle after being found abandoned and overgrown by French writer Pierre Loti. In 1920 its restoration was started by local businessman Paul Chénereau and completed by his children.

Today visitors can take a guided tour of the ornately decorated interior, highlights including the painted panelling and the large kitchen with its full set of copper pans. The inside can only be seen via a guided tour (available in English).

The award-winning gardens include an orchard, flower garden, geometrical flower beds and lawns surrounding a small lake (‘mirror pool’).

Stone age dwellings have been found in the grounds and the objects found in them are kept in a small museum found in the castle’s keep.

For children aged over six years old, there is an area full of old-fashioned games to play, such as ‘Indian Top’.

Address and Contact Information
La Roche Courbon
17250 Saint-Porchaires

Tel: +33 5 46 95 60 10

Photo by Esther Westerveld / CC BY 2.0 images cropped