NRP-FRA-013 · FRANCE
Château de Chamerolles
Plan a visit
Seasonal visits — The château offers independent visits and scheduled guided activities, with seasonal hours and winter closures. Its practical-information page contains mixed calendar years, so the exact date and weekday of a planned visit need confirmation. The stated last ticket admission is 30 minutes before closing.
Booking: Confirm the dated opening timetable directly; reserve workshops and other activities where required.
Official source / visitor information
Source review: 2026-10-12.
Aristocratic Renaissance Château / Museum
History & Character
Lancelot I du Lac, a royal chamberlain and governor, rebuilt Chamerolles in the early sixteenth century. Red and black brickwork, mullioned windows and an Italian-style covered gallery reflected Renaissance taste and the patron’s familiarity with the royal château of Blois.
François I stayed here in 1530, 1532 and 1536. The residence nevertheless belonged to the du Lac family. Lancelot II later converted the chapel for Protestant worship; traces of that religious history survive in its painted decoration.
Later households altered the apartments and grounds. After severe twentieth-century damage and declining maintenance, the Département du Loiret acquired the property in 1987 and undertook restoration. It reopened in 1992. The building now encountered by visitors combines historic fabric, changes made by successive owners and modern conservation.
Sources for this description
Description checked 9 October 2026.
Noble & Elite Residences · France
Chilleurs-aux-Bois, Loiret, Centre-Val de Loire
Rebuilt for Lancelot I du Lac, a royal chamberlain; later restored as a departmental heritage site.
Noble or elite residence; royal patronage, service or visits alone do not establish a royal household residence.
History & Later Use
Lancelot I du Lac rebuilt the residence in the early sixteenth century. Francis I stayed here in 1530, 1532 and 1536. [SRC-FRA-095]
The Département du Loiret acquired the property in 1987; it reopened to visitors in 1992 after restoration. [SRC-FRA-095]
Creative authors: Didier Moulin (museum interpretation); Frédérique Archambault (museum concept)
Interiors & Their Interpretation
Chapel
The chapel preserves evidence of its conversion to Protestant worship under Lancelot II du Lac. [SRC-FRA-095]
Promenade des parfums
Museum interiors interpret the history of hygiene and perfume. Created by Didier Moulin from an idea by Frédérique Archambault during the modern museum project. [SRC-FRA-097]
Royal Connections
Francis I: Royal stays in an aristocratic residence; no claim of royal ownership. [SRC-FRA-095]
Can You Visit?
Seasonal · Checked 2026-10-09
Public visits during the operating season; January closure. Tuesday closures apply in much of the year; July and August have daily opening. Consult the current calendar.
Groups require reservation; individual guided tours depend on the programme and guide availability.
Wheelchair access is limited to the park, gardens and stables; numerous steps prevent access to the château interiors.
Visitor Information Note
A February 2025 reopening statement remains alongside 2026 holiday information. Exact visit dates should be checked with the venue.
Visitor Statistics
No verified annual attendance series has been entered for this property. Missing figures are not zero.
Useful Links & Sources
Research Still to Complete
- Annual attendance by a consistent scope remains to be sourced.
- A complete room inventory and object-level provenance remain to be researched.
For the latest access review, see Plan Your Visit above.
Palace Profile & Official Website
Summary from the existing catalogue; the historical description has not been fully re-audited in this release.
Official source / visitor information
Access: The château offers independent visits and scheduled guided activities, with seasonal hours and winter closures. Its practical-information page contains mixed calendar years, so the exact date and weekday of a planned visit need confirmation. The stated last ticket admission is 30 minutes before closing.
Sources
Annual Visitor Statistics
No verified annual attendance figures have been entered. This does not mean zero visitors or that no statistics exist.
Interiors and collections
Furnished rooms as a museum narrative
During the château’s restoration by the Loiret department in 1987–1992, a thematic museum of hygiene and perfume was developed. The Promenade des parfums uses furnished settings representing the sixteenth to eighteenth centuries to explain changing practices. These are museum arrangements, not a claim that Lancelot du Lac’s household furnishings survive in their original positions.
From the dressing table to modern perfumery
The route follows perfume from early uses associated with health and bodily care to the eighteenth-century toilette and later industrial production. It then turns to the design of bottles, including crystal and glass associated with Baccarat, Lalique, Daum and other makers. Furniture, containers and the act of preparing scents are read together as parts of daily life.
What the collection figures mean
The museum’s undated overview gives a display total of 800 numbered perfume bottles. That statement is a published display description, not a dated annual inventory or attendance figure. It is not entered as a yearly statistic here. Check the official calendar and visitor programme for the available route and guided tours.
Related owners: Lancelot I du Lac.
Official sources
- Château de Chamerolles: Promenade des parfums — exhibition concept and collections
- Château de Chamerolles: official visitor information
Sources checked 10 October 2026.