chateau de cormatin

YTCHENG

We have visited Chateau de Cormatin on 29 September. It was an impressive but intimate water castle that stood in a beautiful park. Fireplaces, ceilings, tapestries and copper utensils were veryinteresting. The water moat and the magnificent gardens were also impressive as it added to the lifetime of "Three Musketeers" As the castle situated between Tournus and Cluny, the southern part of Burgundy, over one hours' driving distance was required.

amortizor73

The kitchen area of the Chateau. Plenty of copper utensils hanging from walls and ceiling. Nice fire in the wood burning fireplace used for cooking.

ingvar

Park is a great examples of the sculptured ones and lovingly cared for. The chateau itself if probably average in a number of properties, but what is critical and relatively rare is that the interiors are in tact. French revolutions did not leave a lot of such places after them. Also they have guided tours performed by History students, which I highly recommend and which provide some perspective, but are not excessive and tiring at the same time.

DonPaulo

Perhaps some reviewers who have seen many chateaux are a bit spoiled. While Cormatin is pretty and has a nice garden, it cannot compare with its larger icons. I am sorry, but in comparison to its competition, it is average.

809RachelM

While we were holidaying in Burgundy, we spent a whole afternoon at Chateau de Cormatin. An impressive, restored, building set in beautiful grounds. It was very easy to spend a good few hours here! We took the tour - it's organised in small groups and you go room by room, with the door closing behind you each time so you don't mingle with other tour groups. The tour is in French and so we had a handout in English to follow along. Our guide was a student and she did extremely well. I suspect there were around 20 of us in her tour group. You see some, not all of the rooms, but you get a very good feel for the history of the place and it's worth spending the money. The garden was lovely to walk around and we appreciated the shade from the larger trees as it was very hot. They have a lovely kitchen garden and a maze. Plus there is a nice place for a light bit and a drink. It's really worth going. We thoroughly enjoyed it.

JoEllenIrene

Chateau de Cormatin has obviously been lovingly restored. The owner was present as we toured the Chateau and was extremely solicitous of the building and ready to answer all questions on the restoration work. It is a beautiful building architecturally. The decorated walls and ceilings in the rooms were amazing as were the fixtures and fittings. The history of the property was extremely interesting as recounted by our knowledgeable guide. Following our tour of the Chateau we strolled the exceptional gardens. Fascinating topiaries and peaceful paths. Definitely worth the visit.

VerAmZ

Beautiful building surrounded by water where you can take great mirror photos, nice park and river area to walk accompanied with friendly geese. Cute vegetable garden: mixture of vegetables and flowers.

auntiehub

loved this Chateau, great tour however the guide did not once try and speak English. Had lots of laughs with the French but not once tried to interpret into English for us like other chateau's we have visited

357berendg

If this Chateau would be located in the Loire valley it would probably attract hardly any visitor. It is a nice, small Castle with beautiful gardens. Michelin's Guide Verte rates it with 2 stars, but anyone who has seen for example Valencay or Chambord will probably be disappointed. There is no animation, only guided tours. Our tour guide spoke some English but as usual it is convenient when you can understand French. There are some good, written translations in many languages available.

whingypom

Tucked away in southern Burgundy, this very attractive chateau appeals both externally with its elegant parkland setting, and internally by the rich decoration of many of its rooms. You will have to join a guided tour to see the latter, but you will come away with a good idea of the dissolute life led by the French aristocracy before the revolution. Major conservation works were in progress at the time of visiting, and the tea room was closed, but this should not detract from arguably one of the most attractive chateaux in this region

NZcouple_12

We sat in the heat for nearly 1 hour waiting for the Chateau to open after lunch. It was a very hot day too. The man at the gate on reception told an English speaking couple in front of us that there was an English speaking guide and as the majority of the visitors that day were English we were surprised to find out that once we arrived at the Chateau that the guide was French speaking only and that we had to follow the tour with note in a clear file - of which there were not enough to go around and they had to go back twice for more copies.The Chateau is beautiful and the rooms we were allowed to see were lovely. The gardens very good - my favourite being the kitchen gardens which were set out so formally. The Moat makes the setting of this Chateau like a fairy tale.

Burgundian71

Just imagine that this place was ruins only several decades ago. Some young architects. Obtained the rights to it and went to work. The outcome is dazzling. The interior shows you the grandeur of France. The outside is beautifull, so well done in period and style. For gardenlovers we can only say TAKE YOUR TIME. The small village of Cormatin id close to the famous Cloisters of Cluny and the Roman Churches on the Brancion route are also in easy distance.Enjoy your visit, it is worthwhile to do.

tahoekr

I cannot speak for the Chateau tour because my timing was off but the gardens alone are sooooo worth the visit. From a beautiful cutting and kitchen garden, to wide open meadows bordered by massive old trees, with formal box gardens and topiaries the main feature, I cannot recommend more highly to garden lovers. Did I mention it rained during my whole visit? Delightful spot for a picnic, mine was eaten on a bench under an immense plane tree to stay mostly dry. The chateau comes complete with moat all the way around fed by a local stream. The gardens are free and open all day, but there is a small fee to visit the interiors which close down from about 12-2 ish.

401SimonR

We visited the Chateau and gardens on a sunny October morning. The guide spoke a little English but spoke clearly and slowly enough for that the 3 of us with some conversational French were able to follow the tour and even ask some questions. The non-French speaker was given a comprehensive written guide in English.The Chateau and gardens have been impressively restored and there is a separate display showing the various stages of renovation. While there are chateaux in better condition (Chantilly for example) it is the detail and social commentary provided with this tour that made this visit so impressive.But don't get the impression this was a dry academic guided tour! The guide went out of his way to engage the 5 young French children who were visiting with their familiesAfter visiting the Chateau itself, we went for a look round the grounds and spotted a pair of white storks nesting on the roof..

zita940

There are two ways to visit the Château de Cormatin: you can simply tour the gardens and the nineteenth-century rooms, or for a few euros more you can have the complete tour, which includes the spectacular painted rooms from the seventeenth century. The complete tour is well worth it.Our tour-- in French, but detailed booklets are provided in English and other languages--was conducted by a history student. She made everything even more interesting and brought the seventeenth century alive for us. The cabinet of curiosities was especially fine, and the richly-painted rooms, some decorated in lapis lazuli blue and gold leaf, are well-preserved--a miracle considering the dire state of repair much of the castle was in when the three current owners bought it. They have saved a great treasure.