Castle Courtanvaux

Bessé-sur-Braye, France, France

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Château de Courtanvaux is a striking château in Bessé-sur-Braye, on the border of France's Sarthe and Loir-et-Cher departments in the Perche Sarthois region, originally built as a 14th-century medieval manor and expanded in the 15th century by Jacques Berziau with Renaissance touches by the Souvré family, who hosted King Henry IV and elevated it to marquisate status.

Passed down through families until acquired by the commune in 1978, it underwent 19th-century Neo-Gothic restorations by the Montesquiou-Fezensac family, blending Gothic, Renaissance, and modern interiors amid 68 hectares of English-style parks, French gardens, rose gardens, woodlands, and water features.

Open for guided interior tours in summer and free park access year-round, it offers a serene escape into Perche heritage near the Braye River without heavy crowds.