Bayeux, La Basse Normandie 14400

In Normandy, 15 km from Bayeux, an 18th-century château registered as a Historic Monument sits within a 60-hectare estate of land, woods and groves. Before the village of Vaubadon, hidden behind a dense hedge, a tree-lined avenue with a triple row of lindens, grassed on both sides, stretches into a slow perspective that leads to the estate. It ends at the forged iron gate, beyond which lies the forecourt with a moat. Around it, the property comprises various elements: an enclosed walled kitchen garden and gardener's house, a basin, a tennis court, then the outbuildings arranged around a large central courtyard. At the rear, the park, registered as a Historic Monument, extends its lines to a vast pond flanked by rhododendrons. This pond marks a transition with the surrounding countryside, like a passage between a drawn landscape and nature allowed to express itself more freely. The regularity of openings, the height of the roofs, and the clarity of the composition characterize the built ensemble. The château has a southeast-facing façade, oriented toward the courtyard, whose regular order and harmonious proportions certify its classical character. Rising two levels under the attic and resting on a semi-subterranean ground floor, it is organized around a central structuring body, extended by volumes added in the 19th century. The slate roofs, punctuated by dormers and tall chimney stacks, along with four pavilions topped with higher roofs, rhythm the silhouette and anchor the dwelling in the landscape. This clarity of composition, the alliance of symmetry, orderliness, and decor, earned the château its Historic Monument registration in 2012.