Bourgogne-Franche-Comté · Côte-d'Or, France

Château de Bussy-Rabutin

The revenge of a banished wit: Roger de Bussy-Rabutin — cousin and correspondent of Madame de Sévigné, exiled by Louis XIV for his scandalous Histoire amoureuse des Gaules — spent his disgrace covering the walls with portrait galleries and barbed painted mottoes aimed at the court that cast him out.

At a glance

Built: 12th–17th centuries
Style: Renaissance château of a witty exile
Commissioned by: Rabutin family; decorated by Roger de Bussy-Rabutin
Signature feature: Portrait galleries with acid-tipped emblems and inscriptions
The exile: Banished after the Histoire amoureuse des Gaules (1665)
The cousin: Lifelong sparring correspondent of Madame de Sévigné
Ownership: French state (Centre des monuments nationaux)
Visiting: Open to visitors year-round