The chateau of Dree

Chateau le Dree, Burgundy

The chateau de Drée is a French castle in the region of Burgundy, France, near the village of Curbigny. Although it is not your traditional castle with towers and drawbridges, it is well worth a visit when you're staying in the county. After years of decay during the last century, it is now restored to its former glory, and what glory it is.

A bit of history

Although finalised in 1620, the Dree castle saw its heyday during the 18th century when the count of Drée, Etienne prince of Lorraine, had it completely redecorated in the style of the royal castle Versailles. Almost 100 years later in 1837 , the castle came to countess Augustine de Tournon-Simiane who not only built the central entrance but also left her memory to the chateau. In many details you will still recognise her lecacy. The countess heirs let the building fall into decay however until 1995 when its current owner Mr Prouvost bought the castle. He undertook the enormous project of restoring the building, of redecorating it in 18th century style and of constructing the now gorgeous gardens. 

Visiting the chateau de Drée

A visit of the castle starts in the courtyard, opposite the main entrance. Through the glass doors you can already take a peek of the central galery. If you have to wait a little while before the tour starts, take the opportunity to walk through the front gardens with the beautiful flowerbeds and to take a picture in front of the castle as if you own the place. Closely observe the castle windows, you may notice something odd.

The tour then takes you into the interesting and fully decorated kitchens. Take your time to really look around to take in all the details as much as possible. Luckily the guide points out the most important features and provide more information about those as well as to make the kitchen come alive. It is easy to imagine how entire boars were grilled in the large fireplace, but also how people managed without modern facilities such as a fridge.

Several cooks and maids worked in the kitchens with the chef living in a little room above. Lead upstairs, you enter the chef cook's room with a bed and washstand. A little window allowed him to look down into the kitchens and see how work was progressing. 

Through one of the long corridors decorated with antlers and pictures and dining room with its completely set table, you finally enter the galery with the enormous marble table in the middle. From there it is look out over the front lane as well as the park and rose gardens at the back.

From the galery you make your way into the drawing rooms. The chateau the Dree currently has two drawing rooms both reflections of the age the king they're named after lived in: the Louis XV Louis XIV. Notice the difference between the square shapes and cooler colours of the Louis XV room and the rounder shapes and warmer colours of the Louis XVI. Despite the adequate imitation of the styles of the ages of Louis XV and Louis XVI, it remains a guess whether the drawing rooms at Dree have actually looked like they do today. Having been completely destroyed, all the wall upholsterings had disappeared and those we can admire today are in fact imitations.

As opposed to the drawing rooms downstairs however, the upstairs rooms still have their original colours and wall papers. The furniture however has been added during the restauration. Nevertheless you are able to see what the bedrooms of various members of the noble family living at Dree must have looked like. Apart from the lord and lady of the house's bedrooms, there are some interesting details to mention. Note how the lord's bedroom has a door to the bedrooms to either side. In one instance that is understandable - the room of his wife was nextdoor but he was thus also able to enter the bedroom on the other side where any (female) guest could be staying.

Besides the bedrooms, the first floor also houses perhaps the most popular areas of the house. Of course the kitchen is very interesting, but you will enjoy the nursury with its little cod and the 19th century bathroom on an entirely different level. After having been taken to the house chapel, the tour continues outside. In adjacent buildings you find the stables and an early exterior sort of freezer where the temperature could be kept very low indeed for ice.


After the tour of the castle, take some time to visit the extensive gardens of the chateau de Drée. 

In the first part you'll find meticiously shaped hedges, the main fountain with benches around it and large parts of grass. 

Further from the castle building the garden transforms itself more into a park with trees. However long you'd like to spend walking around, do not miss the wonderful rose garden to the side of the chateau. Especially during the summer, when all the roses are in bloom, they are a sight for sore eyes!