Driving: Eagle E-Type: a reimagined, classic beauty
26 August 2025
Driving: Aston Martin’s latest Vantage iteration
28 August 2025A Touch of Nobility
The Château de Brissac lays claim to being the tallest in France. It also opens its doors to a few fortunate guests
'T
hese aren’t our greatest tapestries,’ says the Duchess de Brissac, indicating two large, intricate and, frankly, priceless-looking creations on a drawing room wall. ‘They aren’t actually originals. But they do rather well here.’
The Château de Brissac lays claim to being the tallest in France. It also opens its doors to a few fortunate guests
'T hese aren’t our greatest tapestries,’ says the Duchess de Brissac, indicating two large, intricate and, frankly, priceless-looking creations on a drawing room wall. ‘They aren’t actually originals. But they do rather well here.’
She’s absolutely right. The room looks as though it could be expecting the Three Musketeers to walk in at any moment and start planning how best to thwart the latest dastardly plans of Cardinal Richelieu.
In fact, the whole of Château de Brissac is redolent with that same atmosphere. Located near Angers, in the Loire region of France, and with vast grounds and tall turrets, it looks much like a storybook castle.
The visitor steps through its large and impressive doors to be greeted by, among other things, a wall-mounted boar’s head, an array of medieval-style weaponry and a sedan chair. The last was once used to ferry members of the de Brissac family to their appointments.
The château, which is said to be the tallest in France and contains an impressive 204 rooms, was acquired by the de Brissacs in 1502. The current Duke is the 13th of his line to hold the title.
Antiques, artworks and family memorabilia are everywhere. In a downstairs salon there are numerous photographs of celebrity visitors as well as one that shows the Duchess flanked by hundreds of French soldiers. She explains that she is honorary colonel-in-chief of the local regiment of engineers. ‘So now I have 1,300 godsons,’ she adds.
The room looks as though it could be expecting the Three Musketeers to walk in at any moment
Paintings on the walls depict numerous de Brissacs – many of whom played important roles in French history. As might perhaps be expected, some also met sticky ends.
Louis Hercule Timoleon de Brissac, for example, was unfortunate enough to have been at the palace of Versailles when it was stormed by an angry mob during the French revolution in 1792 – with fatal consequences for him.
Another ancestor, Roland de Cosse – father of the 11th Duke – died during the Franco-Prussian war of 1871. His wife, Jeanne-Marie Say, heiress to a sugar refining fortune, was an enthusiastic amateur singer and created her very own theatre on one of the château’s upper levels. Here, she would perform to a packed house of friends and family, although accounts of her ability seem to vary.
Guests can sample all of the above at their leisure. The château has four rooms in which visitors can stay, each decorated in keeping with such a historical building. In the Chambre des Chasses, for example, there are 17th-century tapestries that are packed with wildlife – from leopards, to stags, to birds.
‘When I ask people who stay here whether they’ve slept well, they often say they’ve stayed up counting all the different types of creatures,’ adds the Duchess.
Words: Staff
The Facts
The Château de Brissac is in the Department of Maine and Loire, near the city of Angers.
As well as being the home of the de Brissac family, it has two rooms and two suites.
Each of these has its own theme linked to an aspect of the building’s history
chateau-brissac.fr