Domaine de Vauluisant hosts seminars, training days, company dinners, family gatherings and weddings, for up to 250 guests seated or 400 at a cocktail under its bamboo marquee. The estate grew from the former Cistercian abbey of Vauluisant and stands in Courgenay, in the Yonne department, about 1 h 30 south of Paris and 35 minutes from Troyes. It is open all year.
Seminars and company events
The estate offers several meeting spaces of different sizes, so a plenary session, group work, a training course and a lunch can each have their own room. High-speed Wi-Fi covers the site. The team can coordinate the whole event and put together a turnkey package around the program and the budget.
Two activities are listed for company groups: a wine tasting led by a qualified sommelier, and an escape game with puzzles and an investigation that teams solve together. The 12-hectare park, crossed by a river, adds space for breaks, walks and outdoor team sessions.
Weddings and receptions
Weddings are the estate's main activity. Couples can book the whole property for the weekend. Civil ceremonies take place in the park, with the lime tree avenue used for outdoor celebrations; arches, an aisle carpet and chairs can be provided. The cocktail hour moves between the château, the pond and the old trees. Dinner is served in the Salle François 1er or under the marquee, and the party can run until morning. A bridal suite is set aside for the preparations, and a brunch under the trees closes the weekend. A wedding-planning service is available, or couples can rent the venue and run everything themselves. Catholic churches are close by in Courgenay, Lailly and Villeneuve-l'Archevêque.
Rooms and capacities
The bamboo marquee, set up in 2019, covers 300 square meters with a ceiling 7 meters high. It can be fully closed or partly open, and comes with a professional kitchen, toilets, parking, furniture and heating. It seats 250 for dinner, takes 400 at a cocktail and 300 in a training layout.
The Salle François 1er sits under old vaults in an outbuilding. It seats up to 140 for dinner and holds 300 at a cocktail, with a fully equipped kitchen.
In the château, the Hall d'honneur seats 30 for a meal, 40 in a training layout and 50 for a standing dinner. The Salle Mathilde, a smaller room, seats up to 18 around one table for a meal, a meeting or a course.
Accommodation
The estate sleeps 32 people: 26 in the château and 6 in a cottage, across 16 bedrooms and 5 bathrooms. Bed linen and towels are provided. The bedrooms are reached by the château's monumental staircase, listed as a historic monument. When the estate is booked for a private stay, the salons, dining room and Hall d'honneur are available, with a fully equipped kitchen.
Catering
There is no in-house restaurant. For weddings, meals are served by a caterer chosen from the estate's list of recommended suppliers, who works in the kitchens of the reception hall or the marquee. Furniture and equipment can be rented on site. For seminars, the team includes meals in its turnkey proposal.
History and setting
Vauluisant was a Cistercian abbey, and the estate presents nine centuries of history. Visitors follow the river from the entrance to the château, the reception hall and the marquee. The English-style park covers 12 hectares, with century-old trees, a pond, the river and a lime tree avenue, and the estate states that the park is protected as a historic monument.
Getting there
The estate is close to the A5 motorway. Sens station, with trains from Paris, is 20 km away, and Troyes is 35 km away. Parking is on site.
