Owned by the Counts of Sancerre since the reign of St Louis, the Domaine de Menetou-Salon was sold to the Grand Argentier of King Charles VII, Jacques Cœur in 1448. Shortly after, Jacques Cœur fell into disgrace and his property was confiscated.
After having belonged to various families, it was in the 18th century that the Château de Menetou-Salon inherited the Brancas Lauragais family, whose daughter Pauline, in 1773, married Louis Engelbert, Prince and Duke of Arenberg.
The Château has since been the residence of the French branch of the Princes of Arenberg.
It was in the 19th century that Prince Augustus of Arenberg, a central figure in the Château, decided to enlarge and embellish it. It makes it the symbol of its establishment in the Cher.
For this, he called on the architect Paul Ernest Sanson (1836-1918) who produced a daring work here and was inspired by the Jacques Coeur Palace, in Bourges, one of the most elegant surviving examples of civil architecture in the end of the 15th century. These expansion works will take place from 1884 to 1891. Six years of hard work at a total cost of 1.7 million gold francs. The result is remarkable and encourages us to consider the Château de Menetou-Salon as the flagship of neo-Gothic.
Visit of the castle
The Château and Domaine de Menetou-Salon can be visited only with a guide, either during opening hours to the public for individuals (see dates below) or by reservation throughout the year for groups of 20 people minimum.
Guided tours: 10:30 a.m. - 2 p.m. - 3:30 p.m. - 5 p.m. (no free visit)
Date of visits in 2023: from April 08 to September 30, 2023
- April: from the 8th all weekends and public holidays
- May: all weekends and public holidays
- June, July: every day except Tuesday
- August: open every day except Tuesday, from 01 to 14 and from 23 to 31,
exceptional opening on Tuesday August 15
- September: every weekend
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You will discover the Castle in turn with its chapel, lounges, library and dining room. Then you will visit the Saddlery and the Automobile Museum with its collection vehicles. Your visit will end with a tasting of Domaine du Prince d'Arenberg wines (subject to availability).
The lounges
The Saddlery
The Automobile Museum
Visiting times and prices on the website www.chateau-menetou-salon.com
- Address :
Château de Menetou-Salon
2 rue du Château
18510 MENETOU-SALON
- Phone : 02 48 64 80 54
- Email :