A Renaissance palace born of an unfinished building project
Jean de Buisson had the castle built between 1540 and 1560, on the foundations of an earlier medieval fortress. The result is an L-shaped plan, with two wings linked by a corner tower, in a Renaissance style that is rare in the Rouergue, a region better known for its fortified castles and hilltop villages. The work was led by the master mason Guillaume Lissorgues, whose accidental death halted it before it was fully completed: part of the original plan was never built. Later, in 1790, a fire destroyed the castle's east wing, which remained in ruins for more than two centuries.
Sculpted façades, outstanding gardens and an award-winning restoration
What strikes you on arrival is the east façade, a gallery reminiscent of a triumphal arch, with its Renaissance decoration and monumental chimneys. Inside, a 17th-century chapel holds an altarpiece by Claude Vignon. The castle has been a listed historic monument since 1942, and its recreated gardens have held the "Jardin remarquable" (outstanding garden) label since 2018. Since buying it in 2007, Gérald and Martine Harlin have carried out a large-scale restoration, including the complete rebuilding of the east wing and the grand staircase: work rewarded in 2021 with the Grand Trophée du patrimoine. Today the site also has a 145-seat auditorium and hosts artists' residencies.
Practical information
Allow about 35 minutes by car from the cottage, for some 29 km. Individual visitors can tour the castle from April to October, and groups all year round by appointment. It is a visit apart, quite far from our other suggestions of historic villages: we don't combine it with another stop on the same day, given the drive and the time we like to take to enjoy the gardens.