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Château de la Mazure – a French countryside château near Paris, with 180 hectares of nature and farm-to-table cuisine, Mayenne, France

Château de la Mazure in its park, Mayenne, France

History

Old family photograph in the park of Château de la Mazure

Built in 1868, the château and its estate were bought by the Bernard family in 1901 as the dowry of “Aunt Yvonne”. Ever since, you meet her everywhere in the house, in portraits, busts and photographs… The château has passed down through the generations, and today it is the Le Marié family who own this French country house — one of the family-run châteaux in France still lived in today. We do our best to preserve the soul of the château while bringing together activities and family life.

The château was designed for the pleasure of welcoming guests — and more than a century later, our family still shares that same wish.

Estate

Several groups of buildings are spread across the estate. Each is distinct, yet together they form small islands of country life.

The restored outbuildings of Château de la Mazure

The château and its outbuildings

The château is built in Louis XIII style, with steep slate roofs and brick and tufa façades. It houses fine tapestries and a monumental staircase banister, survivors of Baron Haussmann’s demolitions in Paris. Its 6 bedrooms offer beautiful views over the protected countryside, and a suite of drawing rooms allowed guests to enjoy many activities during their stay.

The outbuildings form a group of 3 buildings that once housed all the working life of the estate: the stables, the carts, the farmyard, the grain stores and the farm tools. One of the small houses was home to the gardener’s family and still bears its name. Restored in 2013, the outbuildings keep as many traces of their past as possible, such as posters put up by the workers of the time, and the old tack room, now a cosy sitting room.

Courtyard of the restored laundry with stone buildings and white linen in the wind

The finest laundry in the kingdom

A former linen bleaching works whose fame spread across Europe from 1768 to 1811. Founded by an enlightened entrepreneur, Leclerc de la Jubertière, the manufacture employed more than 300 people and exported its linen from Spain to Holland.

Although few objects have survived, many traces and writings bear witness to this rich 18th-century industrial past.

Jean René Pierre Leclerc de la Jubertière was already asking himself: how can people work in good conditions? A pioneer, well ahead of his time.

The whole building has been fully restored to preserve this unique industrial heritage: old beams, fireplaces and a period stove still tell its story today.

Mayenne bocage landscape around Château de la Mazure

Land & agroecology

The estate covers 180 hectares of woods, natural meadows, ponds, rivers and cultivated fields, managed with an agroecological approach that respects soils, hedgerows and biodiversity.

The typical Mayenne bocage landscape — some of the most unspoilt French countryside — lets you immerse yourself in nature and discover its wildlife: pheasants, roe deer, wild boar, herons and hares all live around the heart of the estate.

Organic market garden of the Mazure estate

Farm to table

Châteaux have always had a food-growing role, and la Mazure is no exception. Beyond the historic kitchen garden, we have set aside 2 additional hectares for a diversified organic market garden: vegetables, an orchard and small livestock, grown following agroecological principles.

All produce goes straight to the kitchen, offering guests a true farm-to-table dining experience. Next, we plan to study the potential of the estate’s pond and develop freshwater fish farming.

Activities

Châteaux des langues language stay at Château de la Mazure

Châteaux des langues

Since 1983, Château de la Mazure has developed an innovative concept of language immersion stays: Châteaux des langues. A true win-win relationship between a historic house that needs life to thrive and participants who need an inspiring, caring place to focus on their progress.

Châteaux des langues offers intensive language courses (English and French) in château settings. With 40 years of experience and a team of trainers skilled in this unique concept, Châteaux des langues welcomes adults and teenagers.

Since 2018, Châteaux des langues has also helped other châteaux create value, preserving the bond between families and historic monuments. Today, Châteaux des langues runs its courses at Château de la Mazure (Mayenne).

Discover Châteaux des langues
BLANC BLANC BLANC: the restored laundry buildings around the courtyard

BLANC BLANC BLANC

BLANC BLANC BLANC was born in the buildings of the former laundry: fully restored, the venue now hosts seminars and training courses, so that everyone can come together and take time.

The privatised estate welcomes executive teams of up to around twenty people: 19 bedrooms with private bathrooms, flexible meeting rooms and a resident chef cooking farm-to-table, at the heart of 180 hectares of woods, ponds and meadows.

Three immersive training programmes, in small groups and Qualiopi-certified, are also offered: succeeding in a new management role, preparing for retirement, and relaunching it.

1h10 from Paris by train to Laval, the estate is also home to the Manufacture du Blanc, a shared textile workshop: plant dyeing, soap-making and sewing beneath the old timber frame. A place to step back, decide, and leave with a clear direction.

Discover BLANC BLANC BLANC

Contact

Château de la Mazure

53260 Forcé, France

+33 2 43 53 55 63

bienvenue@chateaulamazure.com