Audio GuideSceaux Departmental Estate

Domaine départemental de Sceaux is a historic estate that invites visitors to explore centuries of art, culture, and nature. Originally acquired in the year sixteen seventy by Jean-Baptiste Colbert, a leading minister under King Louis the Fourteenth, the château and its extensive gardens were designed with grandeur in mind. The famed landscape architect André Le Nôtre crafted the park with long avenues, formal terraces, elegant cascades, and a grand canal stretching for about a kilometer. Later, Colbert’s son added sculptures and refined the layout.

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In the early years of the eighteenth century, the estate became a lively social hub under figures such as Anne, Duchess of Maine. Here, grand musical fêtes and gatherings drew celebrated thinkers and artists, including a young Voltaire. Despite a period of neglect and demolition during the French Revolution, the estate was beautifully restored in the mid-nineteenth century by the duc de Trévise. The present château, built between the mid eighteen fifties and early eighteen sixties in a style reminiscent of the Louis the Thirteenth era, sits alongside preserved outbuildings like the orangerie and stables.

Eli Bolyarska

Today, visitors can tour the château and gardens, which now host the Musée de l’Île-de-France—home to an impressive collection of paintings by Parisian artists. Open daily from sunrise to sunset and easily reached by local RER stations, this site now welcomes cultural events, concerts, and sporting festivities. A guided tour here offers a clear narrative of its history while inviting guests to appreciate its timeless beauty and tranquil atmosphere.

Patrik Martin