Château de Hautefort

The Château de Hautefort hosts business seminars, study days, conventions, press conferences and private evening events, as well as family ceremonies in its chapel. Each event is built to measure with the château team, which also works in English. The château stands above the village of Hautefort, in the Dordogne, in the Périgord.

Seminars and company events

The château lists four business formats: conventions, professional seminars, study days and press conferences. Meetings take place in one of the château's halls, and the chapel and the English landscape park can be added for a reception or an evening. Groups of 20 or more can book guided tours of the château, of the gardens, or of both over two hours, which fit into a seminar programme between sessions. A tailored visit can be arranged, and a separate private tour covers the apartments. In summer, theatre evenings take place on Wednesdays, which a group staying in the area can attend.

Weddings and receptions

Family ceremonies can be held in the chapel, and evening events are among the private-hire formats. The château does not publish a dedicated wedding package.

Rooms and capacities

The spaces offered for private hire are one of the château's halls, the chapel and the English park. The château does not publish room names or capacities.

Catering

A restaurant on site serves visitors, and a ticket combining the visit with lunch in the courtyard of honour is sold on set dates. Catering for private events is not detailed on the château's pages.

History and setting

A fortress of the viscounts of Limoges stood here from the 9th century. The troubadour Bertran de Born, joint lord from 1160, held it against the army of Richard the Lionheart in 1183. The Hautefort family took the name in 1388 and became marquises in 1614. From 1640, Jacques-François de Hautefort turned the fortress into a residence with the architect Nicolas Rambourg, followed by Jacques Maigret; work ended in 1695. Sold in 1890, the château was bought in a ruined state by the Bastard family in the 1920s. A fire on 30 August 1968 destroyed the roofs, the framework and the interiors, leaving only the outer walls. Baroness de Bastard led the rebuilding until her death in 1999, using photographs and panelling salvaged from the Château de Kerlaudy, and a foundation created in 1984 now runs the estate. Later campaigns restored the apartments in 2008, the roofs in 2013 and the courtyard and chapel in 2018. The French gardens cover 3 hectares and the English landscape park 30 hectares, and the gardens carry the Jardin remarquable label.

Getting there

The address is 1 esplanade du château, 24390 Hautefort. The château is open seven days a week in season and closes in winter. Group bookings and event requests are handled by the reservations team.