Chateau de Maintenon
The resident of Louis XIV's wife

My first impression of Chateau de Maintenon is, it reminds me of one of Walt Disney's... with round keep that fortified the castle… it resemble so much to Snow White's!!

The very first time I visit this castle was with my son's class, where I was there with another mother to assist the visit. It was fun as I was excited as much as the children.

Now let me take you to visit the castle!

A brief history of Maintenon Castle

The castle was first time built in 1105 and here was the first Lords of Maintenon ever lived in a castle with round keeps (dungeon).

The castle of Maintenon and its garden

In 1509, the castle has attributed to Jean Cottereau, Finance Treasurer of Charles VIII, Louis XII and François I, under a Parliament order. Jean Cottereau was the principal creditor of Amaury Family, the former castle’s Lords.

He and his wife enlarged and embellished the castle on renaissance style. They also built a small church, Saint-Nicolas. Jean Cottereau died in 1530 and buried in the middle of the choir of this church.

St. Nicolas church

In 1674, François d’Aubigné bought the castle with financial support of Louis XIV. About a year after, the King granted her a name as Madame de Maintenon.

Later in 1683, Louis XIV married to Madame Maintenon and she became his secret wife since then.

Visit Chateau de Maintenon

The visit inside the castle takes two parts - firstly is to visit the apartment of Madame de Maintenon and the second is to visit the King's room and the grand gallery of the castle.

You need to enter from the first door on the left side inside courtyard to visit the apartment of Madame de Maintenon. This door is on the lower part of dungeon. I hope you can see well from my picture below.

See the man in green color pant? If yes, then you should see the entry door to Madame Maintenon's apartment just next to him.

All you need is to follow the circuit signs somewhere on the wall. When you passed the exit door which takes you to the north facade of the castle, that means you finish your first part of the visit.

Now the second part is visiting the room of Louis XIV and the grand gallery.
You should enter from the last door of the inner courtyard as seen on the picture below.

The entry door to Louis XIV's room

The second part of your visit will end by passing the exit door next to the canal of the castle.

One thing that might be disappointing is that we are not allowed to take photos of the interior of the castle. Still you are free to photograph the exterior building, the garden and the aqueduct.

The French Style Garden and The Aqueduct

After discovering the interior of the castle, now it’s time to marvel the beautiful French garden and its aqueduct. This time… you can take photos as much as you like!!

Aqueduct of Chateau de Maintenon - view from the inner courtyard

It was in 1681, Andre Le Notre designed and created the beautiful French garden on orders from King Louis XIV.

And what you can see at the end of the garden landscape is the aqueduct, the biggest project of Louis XIV to deliver the water of Eure river to his palace garden in Chateau de Versailles.

Madame de Maintenon received Marquise tittle from Louis XIV in 1688, as compensation for the aqueduct construction which damaged her garden. She was also known as Marquise de Maintenon, since then.

The aqueduct construction itself remains undone as the troops who worked hard to built the aqueduct affected by a disease and because of the war in 1688.

The French State classified the Castle of Maintenon along with its garden and aqueduct as a historic monument in 1943.

The north facade of Chateau de Maintenon

Castle of Maintenon Opening hours

Self Guide Visit

Open daily (except on Tuesday) on:

• 12 February - 08 April and 03 October – 04 December, from 2pm - 5pm (the gate closed at 6pm)
• 09 April – 02 October, from 10.30pm - 6pm (the gate closed at 07pm)
• July – August open daily
• Admission: Adult: 6.50€, guided visit: 8.50€, children: 3€, free for under 7.

Visit with guide - Open from 9 April to 2 October on Saturday and Sunday at 3pm.

Visit in groups - needs reservation.

Private receptions or seminars - possible at the castle of Maintenon but needs reservation.

If you wish to contact the castle, here is the address :
Chateau de Maintenon (website in french)
Place Aristide Briand
28130 MAINTENON
Telp : +33 (0)237 23 00 09
Fax : +33 (0)237 23 00 79

How to get here from Chartres

It is located about 20 km from Chartres, and it takes 20 minutes if you travel by car. If you love to visit castles and you are in Chartres, I suggest you to put this one on your things to do list because it just next door.

You can also take a round trip TER train from Chartres Gare (Chartres Train Station). The trip takes approximately 10 to 22 minutes.

Or if you prefer by bus, you could take Transbeauce from Chartres Gare Routiere (next to Chartres Gare).
But in my opinion, traveling by train will give more flexible time with more schedule trips to Maintenon than traveling with Transbeauce. It’s your choice!

Chateau de Maintenon Golf Course

Do you like doing golf ? Yes you can play golf here… 18 holes golf course is available at Le Golf du Chateau de Maintenon.

The golf course located inside the castle, it takes place of the west part of the garden.

Check out Chateau de Maintenon Golf Course website if you wish to learn more about the golf course, the clubhouse and its stuffs.