Château de Maintenon, Maintenon
Plan your visit
Château de Maintenon from Chartres
1 attraction · 3h 52min · transit route · 1 city
Tickets ~€8.5 · Transport ~€14
Step-by-step route with transport options and cost breakdown
About Château de Maintenon
The Château de Maintenon sits on the banks of the Eure River about 80 km southwest of Paris, built around a 13th-century keep that was transformed into a Renaissance residence in 1505 by Jean Cottereau, treasurer to King Louis XII. The estate gained its fame through Françoise d'Aubigné, whom Louis XIV made Marquise de Maintenon in 1674 and later secretly married. The king sent André Le Nôtre to redesign the park in 1676, creating the formal French gardens with interlacing parterre patterns that were fully restored to their original plans in 2013.
Château de Maintenon — Planning Your Visit
Opening Hours
Ticket Prices
Castle + Park & Gardens
RecommendedIncludes self-guided visit of the castle interior and access to the formal gardens and aqueduct ruins. Young adults 18-25 and students pay 4.50€. Reduced rate 6.50€ for unemployed and teachers. Guided tours available at 11:00, 14:30 and 16:00 for an additional 1.50€ (reservation required). In low season (Nov-Mar), weekday hours are 14:00-17:30, weekends 10:30-17:30.
Park & Gardens Only
Access to the French formal gardens designed by Le Nôtre and view of Vauban's unfinished aqueduct. Flat rate for all ages.
In day plans, the recommended ticket is pre-selected and included in the total price.
An estimated 10,000 of the 30,000 workers mobilized for the aqueduct died during its construction, mostly from dysentery and malaria contracted in the surrounding marshes. Despite these losses, the aqueduct was never completed and never carried a single drop of water to Versailles.
Travel Plans for Château de Maintenon
Explore a city in one day
- Step-by-step walking route through the city
- Transport options with travel times and fares
- Entrance fees and opening hours for every stop
- Total cost calculated based on your preferences
Day Routes
Nearby Attractions
Chartres Saint-André Collegiate Church
Chartres Cathedral
Chartres Saint-André Collegiate Church