The Château de Versainville hosts wedding receptions, seminars and cultural events, with indoor spaces that take from a few dozen guests up to 400 standing, hired exclusively during the season from May 1 to October 15. The château stands in Versainville, near Falaise in the Calvados department of Normandy, about 30 minutes from Caen.
Seminars and company events
The owners rent rooms inside the château for seminars as well as receptions, and several formulas are offered so that each event runs on an exclusive basis. The layout of the summer salon, the great dining room and the great gallery gives flexibility for a plenary, a working lunch and a reception in separate rooms. The château and its park can also host cultural events. Organizers should ask by email for the formulas and options that match their dates and group size.
Weddings and receptions
Weddings are the main use of the house. Couples can shape the reception to their taste within the formula they choose. The family imposes no suppliers but recommends, without exclusivity, a selection of caterers, a horse-drawn carriage ride, a jazz band and a local DJ. Options include lighting one or both façades, lighting the park and a choice of decorations for photographs. The rental calendar can change with the château's activity, so dates should be checked early.
Rooms and capacities
Three main rooms are used for events: the summer salon, the great dining room and the great gallery. Depending on the format agreed, these spaces take from a few dozen people up to 400 standing indoors. The cour d'honneur, entered through a wrought-iron gate from the reign of Louis XIV, and the park with its century-old trees frame arrivals, cocktails and photographs.
Accommodation
A gîte inside the park, close to the château, sleeps six people in three bedrooms, two twin rooms and one double, with a sofa bed in the living room for two more. Check-in is from 3 p.m. and check-out by 11 a.m.
History and setting
Building began during the Régence, in the early 18th century, for François-Joseph de Marguerit, later Marquis de Versainville. A long main building is joined to a gallery that ends in a pavilion. The descendants of the marquis kept the house until the Second World War. Count Bernard de La Rochefoucauld, then mayor of Versainville, died in June 1944 in the Flossenbürg concentration camp. After the war the château belonged to companies of the car industry, and in 2002 great-nephews of the count bought it back from the PSA group. With the help of the association Les amis du château de Versainville, the family is restoring the house and park and funds the work through cultural events and room hire. The park opens to the public in summer and on European Heritage Days.
Getting there
Versainville is about 30 minutes from Caen, 45 minutes from Deauville and from Lisieux, and 2 h 30 from Paris by road. The château is at 7 rue du Château, in Versainville, close to Falaise.
