If your dream is to live in a fairytale 17th-Century Château in France, Château de Mairy is a beautiful and affordable destination in the Champagne region.
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Where is the Château?
After landing in Paris, we will hop in a car and drive 1.5 hours (mostly highway driving) to the Château! Additionally, the area is also accessible by train from Paris to Epernay or Reims. There are car rental companies at the train stations or you can always opt for a cab.
Château de Mairy is a lovely 17th-century château that we chose as our lodging & wedding venue, but it can also be rented for any event. It is situated about 10 minutes away from the train station in Châlons-en-Champagne. The property is vast and peaceful; however there are train tracks not too far from the château. Being New Yorkers, this did not bother us at all while sleeping, but keep that in mind if it’s something you’re not used to. It didn’t affect the solitude of the estate!
They have recently put one of the separate towers up on Airbnb so you can book it for an affordable price if you are just looking for a unique place to stay while exploring the Champagne region! We rented the entire estate inside the gates- the château, the gatehouse, one of the towers and the 14th-century medieval chapel that we held our romantic, intimate wedding ceremony in.
How I found the Château Online
If you are interested in how I found this rental location for our wedding, visit my Destination Wedding Guide here about how to find a venue and all your vendors entirely online!
The history of this château is fascinating considering it is not one of the major chateaux that people will know about. French nobles, who were consults to the king, owned this château. Additionally, it was built during the same time period as King Louis XIV’s Versailles. If you are an Outlander or Reign fan, you will love this next part!
Why this Place is so Cool
The château was also King James II and his wife’s French hide out when he was exiled from England in the Glorious Revolution of 1688. His Protestant son-in-law, William of Orange (for you Versailles TV show fans), took his throne with his eldest daughter and excluded Catholics from the English throne.
Home of the Descendant of One of my Favorite Queens
So who is James II? He is the great grandson of none other than Mary, Queen of Scots! Mary’s son was James I, who had a son, Charles the 1st, and his son became James II. For the Outlander fans, James II’s son became James Francis Edward, who claimed the English, Scottish and Irish crown as James III of England and Ireland and James VIII of Scotland, with the support of his Jacobite followers and his cousin King Louis XIV of France.
Fourteen years later, he unsuccessfully attempted to gain the throne in Britain during the Jacobite rising of 1715. His son would become Charles Stuart, the one in Outlander that Jamie and Claire find in France! Charles Stuart would continue to claim the British crown as part of the Jacobite Succession. Basically this place is rich with so much history and backstory!
Lastly, the château was also occupied during both World Wars by the Germans. In the second World war, Nazi’s took up shop here. As a result, the current painting of James II’s wife has 2 bullet holes in it from when the Nazis occupied it.
Medieval Chapelle on the Grounds
There is a truly spectacular 14th-century chapel (or chapelle in French) on the grounds, which sealed the deal for us to book this location as our wedding venue. On the floor of the 14th-century chapel are names of the families that lived in the area centuries ago. What was curious was that some names where crossed out on the chapel floor. That is because they wanted to erase their names and associations during the time of the turbulent French Revolution.
Admiring the chapel and then entering its doors is an enchanting experience; like a secret place no one has shared for the last 500 years. There is a real magic here and the vibes are overwhelmingly positive!
Medieval Tower Suites
Another unique part about this venue are the lodging options outside of the château. There is a gatehouse with two bedrooms (salon and kitchen, too) and two towers on the property. One tower is next to the château (no kitchen) and the other is before the property gates. This one is commonly on Airbnb and has a full kitchen. The owners were staying in the gatehouse and there were guests in the exterior tower during our stay. The tower inside the gates was ours with our estate rental and it was fun to explore! It would be an ideal lodging for younger guests.
At a minimum, it’s required that the entire estate is rented for weddings (the château, gatehouse and tower). For more than 32 or so guests, the private apartment inside the château and the tower outside of the gates can be rented as well.
Elegant and Unique Château Rooms
The main château has many rooms for you and your guests…or just for you! Some modern luxuries have been retrofitted into the chateau, such as electricity and running water for example. However, there is obviously no air conditioning. Consequently, it could get warm at night during the summer. The stone walls help keep the cool air inside, but we did request a fan so that we could get the best sleep possible.
Beauty in the Imperfections
This historic chateau is being brought back to it’s former glory. There is a huge difference between Château de Mairy and a château hotel. We knew that when booking this venue (sometimes it catches people off-guard) and that is what we loved about it. The peeling paint, the uneven floors, and the antique furniture is a part of the charm. We loved the imperfections of this magnificent structure; how it was more beautiful after everything she has been through in this world. This venue resonated deeply with us; We knew that this was the location to celebrate our marriage.
There are many more bedrooms and bathrooms than what I photographed here! Some bedrooms have a full en-suite bathroom and some bedrooms share a bathroom between rooms.
Magical Meals prepared by Private Chef
Kris, our chef, prepared us some of the best meals we could have ever imagined during our multiple stay here! Kris and Annemieke were such gracious hosts that became life-long friends of ours now! Certainly we will never forget partying all together until 3AM on our wedding day. Well, technically the day after our wedding day! But unfortunately for future guests, Kris and Annemieke have left the château (we were their last wedding!). Good news is that they have bought their own château and I envision a visit in our future!
While I can not vouch for the new chef and catering services at the château, I am sure the food will be spectacular, you are in France after all!
Classic French Buffet Welcome Dinner
Gastronomic Château Wedding Dinner
Romantic fairytale table setting by Cindy Gigot D’agneau (French roast leg of lamb) with bio carrots, thyme, asparagus, amazing mushrooms, au jus The BEST gratin dauphinois Seriously, my favorite side dish of all time A little mid-dinner selfie Assorted French pastries and Baba au Rhum Traditional French wedding dessert called Croquembouche (profiteroles bound with threads of caramel)
If we had one more day, we would explore the forest path to the lake that the château has access to! In short, it will be on our list for next time on our potential anniversary trip one day 🙂 If anyone has any further questions about this lovely venue, do not hesitate to message me in the comments or on Instagram!
[…] so much to say about this château and many photos to show you, I wrote an entire post about it here! The history of the château is truly fascinating. It dates back to the Medieval period and served […]