Weddings and receptions
Château de Boulbon takes private dinners for up to 200 seated guests and events for up to 500 people in concert format, along with weddings, celebrations, lunches, exhibitions and photo or fashion shoots. The castle stands on a rocky spur of the Montagnette massif above the village of Boulbon, in the Bouches-du-Rhône, between Avignon and Arles.
The owner, Balthazar de Lavergne, handles private hire directly. Each project starts with a written description and an on-site visit, during which the use of each space is agreed with the client. Not every date is open, since the castle also runs public visits and cultural events, including concerts.
Rooms and capacities
The castle offers several raw, adaptable spaces rather than fitted function rooms. The largest formats published are 500 people for a concert and 200 guests for a seated dinner. Guests can use the terraces, which look over the Rhône valley, and see the 13th-century seigneurial residence of about 30 rooms, the 11th-century Romanesque keep and a lapidary museum of carved stones and masons' marks found during restoration. Stairs and gravel paths make access for people with reduced mobility very limited, and there are toilets on site.
History and setting
A first castrum went up from 1003 to watch the crossings of the Rhône, then the border between the Kingdom of France and the County of Provence. Its Romanesque keep, anchored in the rock, relied on the cliff for defense. The Saint-Marcellin chapel dates from the 12th century and is the setting of the Procession des bouteilles each June 1, when wine is blessed at dusk.
In 1457 King René, Duke of Anjou and Count of Provence, acquired the domain and made it a residence, adding trilobed machicolations and carved crenellations to the south wall on the model of the royal castle of Tarascon. Cannon fire in the unsettled 17th century ended its military role, and in 1674 Julie de Forbin de la Roque turned it into a pleasure residence, with the first carriage road, two stacked terraces and fountains fed by an aqueduct. After the death of Count Gaston de Raousset-Boulbon in Mexico on August 12, 1854, the family gradually left the castle. Restoration began in the 21st century under Dominique de Lavergne, who reinforced the 13th-century north rampart and cleared the foundations of the keep. Behind the 15th-century rampart, a rock-cut shaft about 2.5 meters wide has been dug out to 17 meters, and its purpose is still unknown.
Getting there
The castle is on Chemin du Château, 13150 Boulbon, above the village, and guests reach it on foot through the old lanes. Free parking is at Place Gilles Léontin, about ten minutes' walk from the entrance. By road, Avignon is about 30 minutes away, leaving the city south on the D2 and crossing the Rhône, and Arles about 25 minutes via the D35. Group visits outside opening days can be arranged with the owner.
