Chateau de gizeux

The notorious du Bellay family , related to the famous writer Joachim du Bellay, arrived in the castle in 1334 to stay in Gizeux for 350 years and undertook several works in order to modernise the home.

When marrying Marie d’Yvetôt in 1585 René du Bellay became a Prince because his fiancée’s family owned the Yvetôt Principality, a little kingdom of Normandy.

In 1992 my mother , owner of the Château , asked me to help her in the difficult task of safeguarding this monument. My wife and I, together with our six children have accepted to take up this formidable challenge and to fight on in order to give a future to this beautiful but fragile place!

My wife and me, with our last child

As a result, it is our aim to bring the castle back to life in order to protect it for the better. So our first initiative was to open it to the public in 1993 and offer several cultural activities. Theatre plays, concerts, exhibitions all along the duration of the seasons, thereby highlighting our commitment to the artistic field since the château de Gizeux has now been the “Château des Arts” for a long time.

In 2003 I became the owner of the castle and its park. Together with my spouse and our children we took the decision to inhabit it as our main residence. . At the same time we launch our project of opening “chambres d’hôtes”.

In 2008, I decided to give up my work in order to throw myself full-time into the economical development of Gizeux.

This risky adventure highlights our determination to be able to welcome the visitors on the best terms and to transmit our passion and write with them today’s and tomorrow’s history of Gizeux”.