$2-Million Renaissance Chateau Comes With French Benefits

Side view of the Chateau
The rambling chateau sits on 35 acres near Roanne, a picturesque city on the Loire River.

Not all French chateaux are the same. Those with a monument historique designation offer financial benefits.

Such expenses as building repairs, insurance and interest can be deducted from income tax. And for those willing to wade through the process, delays and approvals, the deduction can be up to 100% – if portions of the structure are made open to the public for a designated amount of time. That’s a huge advantage for the owner of a multi-centuries-old home.

The 10 acres of parkland surrounding the chateau are dotted with mature and ornamental trees. (GROUPE MERCURE)

This 15th to 16th century chateau was classified as a historic monument in 1927 in recognition of its exceptional Renaissance architecture. The stone monolith sits on 35 acres outside of Roanne, a once busy river port on the Loire that has become a tourist getaway.

Set in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of southeastern France, Roanne is known for an outstanding archaeological museum and its food – including the noted three Michelin star restaurant La Maison Troisgros. The major city and gastronomic center of Lyon is 90 kilometers or 56 miles away.

A high beamed ceiling, a large fireplace and checker board-patterned floors are among features of the dining room. (GROUPE MERCURE)

The four-level chateau offers nearly 14,000 square feet of living space. The residence, with a tower, parapets, a cellar dungeon and a panoramic terrace, centers on an inner courtyard. Some 1,600 square feet of reception rooms overlook this central space.

Decorative features include fireplaces, wood paneling, beamed ceilings, diamond-patterned leaded windows and terracotta, checker-board and parquet flooring. A baronial fireplace sits in the formal dining room.

There are more than a dozen bedrooms in the chateau alone. (GROUPE MERCURE)

Two wings house the more than one dozen bedrooms, most of them with en-suite bathrooms.

Nearby are a four-bedroom caretaker’s cottage of nearly 1,176 square feet and some storage sheds. There’s another 2,000-plus square feet of living space in a 1960s villa with a basement and adjoining two-car garage.

Many of the room look out onto the central courtyard. (GROUPE MERCURE)

About 10 acres of the grounds are devoted to parkland with ornamental trees, two water features, a vegetable garden and an orchard. Two plots of meadows are leased out and separated from the main property by a tree-lined driveway.

The asking price is 1.75 million euros or about US $1.9 million. Nicolas Devic of Groupe Mercure is the listing agent for the chateau.

Author

During four decades of covering luxury and celebrity housing, I’ve looked into people’s homes, lives and property records through many lenses. I was the Los Angeles Times Real Estate section editor for eight years, the Hot Property columnist for six and did stints as a newspaper reporter, copy editor and page designer. My work for The Times Business, Home and Real Estate sections has garnered in-house and national awards for blogging, editing and feature writing.

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