Virtual tour: 16th-century French chateau at auction for €750,000

A 16th-century French Renaissance chateau and the former home of Louis XIV’s famous mistress, the Marquise de Montespan, is to be sold at auction in June at a starting price of €750,000.

The building, which has four traditional turrets, a gated driveway and landscaped gardens, is in the commune of Saint-Elix-le-Château (Haute-Garonne), southwest of Toulouse. It became the property of the state in 2019.

Its owner had attempted to sell it for €15million in 2014.

The auction will take place between 13:00 on Tuesday, June 21, and 13:00 on Wednesday, June 22.

There is a ‘virtual visit’ of the property available to view here.

Built in the 1540s and renovated in the 1980s, it has 25 rooms (of which 14 bedrooms), and is split across three floors. It has a vast attic space, and slate roof, as well as four turrets.

Overall, it has 2,000m2 of livable space, plus 30,00m2 of grounds. It was once the home of the Marquis de Montespan, whose wife became the “most famous mistress in France” to King Louis XIV.

The chateau was listed as an official historic monument on January 31, 1927, but it was ravaged by fire in 1945. It was only restored in the 1980s, with a project that lasted eight years and included a total renovation of the roof.

The chateau is relatively well-known in Occitanie because it is visible from a major road, the A64, which is known as the “winter sports motorway” because of its access to the Pyrenees from Toulouse.

It is a 30 minute drive from Toulouse Blagnac international airport.

More information on the property and contact details of the sales managers are on the government property website (in French).

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