Chateau de Villette is more than a French manor house — it’s a walk through history.
Built in the late 17th century with the help of Jules Hardouin-Mansart and Andre Le Notre, both of whom were instrumental in building the world-renowned Palace of Versailles, the chateau features seven suites in the main house, each extravagantly designed in the era of Louis XV.
The grounds are no less lavish, set atop 75 hectares of woods, with multiple lakes and ornately sculpted gardens.
Once fertile ground for visits from intellectuals like Thomas Jefferson and Thomas Paine, the chateau’s guests of today include celebrities like Tom Cruise and author Dan Brown, whose bestselling book “The Da Vinci Code” was turned into a film that was shot at the location.
A major selling point of the chateau is its history, but many modern wonders were added following a major renovation after the home was purchased by The Heritage Collection in 2011, said Suzanne Isore, who wrote a book on the history of the chateau.
“You might not believe this, but right under my feet is a marvel of hydraulic engineering. It is a 15-ton block of stone which descends to reveal the chateau’s swimming pool,” she told CNBC.
Located some 40 minutes from Paris’ city center, the chateau rents for nearly $270,000 a week.
Watch the full video to see the exquisite interiors of Chateau de Villette.