Château de Compiègne

Gala dinners for up to 650 guests, cocktails for up to 700, seminars and colloquiums can be held in the first-floor state rooms of the Château de Compiègne, the royal and imperial residence in Compiègne, in the Oise. The château, run as a national museum, hires out a set of reception spaces that can be taken alone or combined, from a 133 m² gallery to a 1,000 m² sequence of rooms.

Seminars and company events

The château lists cocktails, dinners, seminars and colloquiums among the events it accepts. A privatisations officer handles requests and sends the space hire brochure. Groups can add a guided visit led by a lecturer from the Réunion des musées nationaux, which suits a board seminar or a client evening that opens with a tour of the apartments before dinner. The château also has a separate service for film, series and advertising shoots.

Rooms and capacities

All hire spaces are on the first floor and are reached through the Cour d'honneur, the Galerie des Colonnes and the grand staircase. The Salle des Gardes, a vaulted hall at the head of the staircase, covers 300 m² and takes 350 guests for a cocktail or 250 to 300 for dinner. Adding the antechamber brings the space to 450 m², for 550 standing or 400 seated. The largest option joins the Salle des Gardes, the antechamber and the Galerie de Bal: 1,000 m² for 700 at a cocktail or 650 at dinner.

The Galerie de Bal alone, about 45 m long, 13 m wide and 10 m high, measures 440 m² and takes 300 guests standing or seated. The Antichambre du Roi et de la Reine (150 m², reached by the Queen's staircase) and the Galerie Natoire (133 m²) each take 200 standing or 100 seated.

Accommodation

The château has no guest bedrooms. Delegates stay in hotels in Compiègne and the surrounding area.

Catering

The château's pages do not set out catering terms. The caterer, hours and technical conditions are agreed with the privatisations officer when the request is made.

History and setting

Compiègne was a royal residence long before the present building. Louis XV had it rebuilt by Ange-Jacques Gabriel, and works continued into the 1780s. Napoleon I restored it, and under the Second Empire Napoleon III and Empress Eugénie received guests there each autumn; the Galerie Natoire hosted evening events and concerts in that period. Today the building houses the apartments of the Emperor and Empress, the Musée du Second Empire, the Musée de l'Impératrice and the Musée national de la Voiture, with a park and rose garden that open onto the forest of Compiègne.

Getting there

Compiègne lies about 80 km north of Paris. Trains run from Paris Gare du Nord to Compiègne station, a short walk across the Oise from the château. Paris-Charles de Gaulle airport is around 45 minutes by road. The château is open to visitors every day except Tuesday, which matters when planning set-up times.