Events

SEE THE EVENTS

From November to April

" The Grand Reception Rooms Redesigned by Jacques Garcia "

The décor of the Empire Drawing Room and the Four Seasons Drawing Room will once again be on display from November 2026.

The furnishings of Marie-Antoinette’s Boudoir and Louis XVI’s Study are fully integrated into the permanent visitor route.

Breteuil Reimagined by Jacques Garcia

In spring, Breteuil awoke adorned with silk and gilding. Winter had passed, and behind closed doors, magic had taken place. New curtains here, new paintings there, and just beside the fireplace, a sofa and an armchair extending a warm invitation. For that is precisely what this project is: an invitation to relive the château’s two great centuries of splendour, the XVIIIe and XIXe centuries…

When François and Pauline de Breteuil took over the estate, they approached the renowned architect and interior designer Jacques Garcia—almost timidly at first—with a project centred on Christmas decorations. Little did they imagine that this would be the beginning of a much larger adventure.

Rather than creating a seasonal display, Jacques Garcia proposed accompanying them in the redecoration and refurnishing of several rooms within the château. His ambition was to support the necessary momentum for change—“Everything must change so that everything may remain the same”—and to guide Breteuil away from the museum-like and purely tourist-oriented approach inherited from the 1970s and 1980s. Instead, he sought to restore what such houses have always truly been: lived-in interiors that are both magnificent and intimate.

A whirlwind of energy, talent and exquisite taste swept through the château: 50 pots of paint, 300 metres of sumptuous fabrics from leading textile houses, 400 metres of trims and passementerie, existing furniture rediscovered and repositioned, charming antiques sourced from dealers and flea markets, and the dedication of skilled craftsmen working tirelessly over the course of just three months.

Decorative painters, upholsterers, electricians, the château’s technical team, and many others worked enthusiastically alongside François and Pauline de Breteuil to bring this ambitious project to life.

As a result, four reception rooms on the ground and first floors of the château have been beautifully enhanced and transformed.

THE ENHANCED ROOMS

The Four Seasons Drawing Room fully embodies the finest traditions of French decorative arts, from the Regency period to the reign of Louis XVI, a world shaped by the influential women of the 18th century, including Madame de Pompadour, Madame du Barry and, of course, Marie-Antoinette. It now showcases the celebrated La Fontaine furniture suite, stamped by Bernard and commissioned for the château in 1771 (listed as a Historic Monument), together with some of the finest 18th-century Chinese lacquer pieces. These rare treasures have remained at Breteuil thanks to a family that has carefully preserved its heritage rather than dispersing it. Until now, this remarkable furniture had been displayed on the first floor since the château first opened to visitors in 1969.
The Marie-Antoinette Boudoir is entirely new to Breteuil. It evokes the presence of the young Dauphine shortly after her arrival from Austria, with her spinning wheel—one of the royal and historic treasures of the Breteuil collection—alongside her watercolour palette and a delicate batiste blouse casually left on the arm of a bergère chair. The room also recalls the friendship between Marie-Antoinette, Louis XVI and Baron de Breteuil, Minister of State.
The reconstruction of King Louis XVI’s study at Versailles reflects all the splendour of the 18th century, featuring a fabric also found in the Royal Palace of Compiègne. The year is 1785, and visitors are invited to revisit the Affair of the Queen’s Necklace, one of the events that foreshadowed the French Revolution. The carefree days of the young Dauphine are already long gone.
In the Empire Drawing Room, Jacques Garcia delights in exploring the Napoleon III style, a period he particularly admires for its opulence and eclecticism. Here, elements from earlier centuries are brought together in a rich yet harmonious composition, where damask fabrics, leopard motifs and densely arranged paintings of various sizes celebrate the members of the Breteuil family from this era. During this period, the château, then home to Alexandre de Breteuil and later his son Henri, underwent major transformations. Modernised and increasingly devoted to entertaining, it welcomed distinguished guests such as King Edward VII, Marcel Proust and the Queen of Portugal…