The commune of Bouray-sur-Juine, in Essonne, boasts a spectacular 17th-century castle among its treasures. The Château de Mesnil-Voysin, built by the renowned master mason Michel Villedo, welcomes visitors on 19 and 20 September 2026. To mark Heritage Days, the monument will host a range of guided tours and activities so that curious guests can discover the history and distinctive features of this place.
This centuries-old castle is currently being restored. However, time has not been enough to erase its superb appearance. The monument is adorned with over 300 windows, dormer windows of various shapes, and a massive dovecote, topped by a pepperpot housing 3,500 boulins (indoor nesting boxes). An orangery, workshops and dry moat can also be admired by visitors.
Enjoy the 43rd Heritage Days to discover this castle steeped in history, and take part in the various animations offered over the weekend. Check the schedule so you don’t miss any of the planned activities!
Self-guided tour of the Château de Mesnil Voysin in Bouray-sur-Juine
Open house at the Château de Mesnil Voysin in Bouray-sur-Joinne.
Thanks to the estate’s owner, the town of Bouray-sur-Joinne, the association Bouray and Its History, and the tireless volunteers, visitors will be welcomed into Mesnil-Voysin on September 19 and 20, 2026, as part of European Heritage Days.
Guests will be greeted by volunteer hosts and carefully curated exhibitors. The public can marvel at a display of vintage collector cars, tour the bread oven, visit the dovecote with its original framework and movable debris tray, explore the restored chapel and the grand salon, and wander through the various stands. Highlights include a flock of sheep with a sheepdog demonstration, an apiculturist, a blacksmith, a upholsterer, woodturners, roofers, a glass-maker, and more. The bread oven will be in operation for these two days, allowing visitors to bake bread in the traditional way and fougasses cooked over wood fire. Apple juice will also be produced on site and sold to support a local association.
Gourmet market and handcrafted arts (about 70 exhibitors) with on-site refreshment options.
Participation terms: Free | No reservation required
Hours: Saturday, September 19, 2026 — 9:30 AM to 6:00 PM | Sunday, September 20, 2026 — 9:30 AM to 6:00 PM
Guided tour of the Mesnil Voysin Castle in Bouray-sur-Juine
The château was built between 1632 and 1635, under Louis XIII, preserving the Henri IV style. It is crafted in local grès stone. François Mansart is said to have been the architect, with Claude Cornuel as designer.
The courtyard of the commons serves the orangery, the kitchens, storehouses and workshops, the fruit garden and the bread oven.
The chapel dates from 1611 and was erected by Renée Sabathier; its roof is made of carena. A crypt beneath has housed the tombs of numerous lords:
- Sabathier family
- de Rouge family
- Choiseul-Praslin family
- de Polignac family
The dovecote sits at the center of the commons, topped with a pepper-pot roof. It contains 3,500 nest boxes (interior lofts), a magnificent framework, and a movable hoist from the period. Pigeon droppings were collected as fertilizer for the vegetable garden.
The park, redesigned in the 17th and 18th centuries by Le Nôtre, originally covered 175 hectares; today only about 42 remain. It is enclosed by a country stone wall.
The dry moats protected access to the château. A drawbridge may have been built.
The Juine River was diverted to feed the water feature, the canals, and the fountains.
The seigneurial domain included three farms:
- La Ferme du Petit-Mesnil
- La Grande Ferme
- La Petite Ferme
The God of Bouray was found in 1815 in the park’s Mesnil-Voysin water feature. He has appeared in all Celtic-art exhibitions. The banks of the Juine were once a site of pagan worship.
The Pocancy Tower is a folly: it was built by the Marquis de Brogglie to overlook the estate.
Gathering for the visit next to the bread oven. A sign with departure times will be on site. Duration of the visit: about 30 minutes.
Please note that not the entire château is open to the public (private property). You will visit the bread oven, the dovecote with movable nesting, the chapel, and the grand green salon.
Participation terms: Free | No booking required
Hours: Saturday, September 19, 2026 — 9:30 AM to 6:00 PM | Sunday, September 20, 2026 — 9:30 AM to 6:00 PM
Visit to the functioning bread oven at Château du Mesnil Voysin in Bouray-sur-Juine
During the European Heritage Days, we’ll fire up the bread oven again!
You’ll be able to watch bread and fougasse being made, and even buy some.
Tastings on site.
Participation requirements: Free | No reservation required
Hours: Saturday, September 19, 2026 — 9:30 AM–6:00 PM | Sunday, September 20, 2026 — 9:30 AM–6:00 PM
Demonstration of herding dogs
Sheepdog demonstration as they herd a flock of sheep and ducks through a course.
Participation terms: Free | No reservation required
Opening hours: Saturday, September 19, 2026, 9:30 AM–6:00 PM | Sunday, September 20, 2026, 9:30 AM–6:00 PM
Self-guided tour of the Mesnil-Voysin Castle’s dovecote with a movable dénichoir in Bouray-sur-Juine
Free visit to the Mesnil-Voysin movable-denichoir dovecote
Few vintage movable-denichoir dovecotes remain.
The Mesnil-Voysin unit weathered the Revolution and has stayed true to its original condition.
3,500 boulins (nesting holes) for a 175-hectare estate.
Participation requirements: Free | No reservation required
Hours: Saturday, September 19, 2026 – 9:30 AM to 6:00 PM | Sunday, September 20, 2026 – 9:30 AM to 6:00 PM
Self-guided visit of the chapel at Mesnil Voysin Castle in Bouray-sur-Juine
Open to visitors: the Chapel of the Trinity at Château du Mesnil Voysin in Bouray-sur-Joinne.
The Chapel of the Trinity
The Father, the Love given; the Son, the Love received; the Holy Spirit, the Love shared.
The limewash that once enveloped the chapel, concealing the last sandstone traces of the château’s coatings before its restoration, has given way to a lime plaster finish.
A late sacristy linking the chapel to the chapel-keeper’s house has been removed. The window has regained its place.
Built in 1610, predating the current château, with a boat-hull roof and imperial-style frame, its barrel vault is slightly flattened.
The main altar, fashioned around a fireplace surround, was replaced by a Louis XIV-era sideboard and an early 17th-century tabernacle.
Two penitential canopies surround the altar. The tribune (Robert de Cotte) was rebuilt with balusters of the same model as the communion table, marking the second level.
The third level on which the altar rests is an ellipse of royal red marble from Flanders (a nod to Baroque), showing a progression in the richness of materials.
A maiden-stone placed against the tribune wall—Dedication stone of Lady Renée Sabathier, widow of the late Guillaume Hérouard, Counselor and Secretary to the King—who had the chapel built and is interred here on February 23, 1611.
The chapel was blessed and consecrated by Monseigneur and Reverend Father in God Sir Jacques de Martin, Bishop of Vannes, and by Cardinal Duperron, Archbishop of Sens, Primate of Gaul and of Germanie, Grand Almoner of France.
The funeral ledger (Cornuel), once a lordly right, lies beneath the woodwork.
A 1816 processional banner, with a Christ on the front and Saint Martin on the reverse.
The nave’s central aisle is lined with commemorative stones and three slabs covering three vaults, trodden underfoot in a sign of humility.
Edward VII (who became Duke of Windsor after his abdication) and Wallis Simpson were outbid in the Mesnil purchase by Monsieur Mansillon, as they sought to move the Polignac tombs. A Polignac funeral crown remains.
A bull’s-eye window, similar to those at the château, replaces a steep dormer to welcome a stained-glass panel depicting the Order of the Holy Spirit—the supreme decoration. It stands as a bridge between the Chapel of the Trinity and the men who inhabited Mesnil (Voysin, keeper of the order; Broglie and his chain; Guitaut, and others).
Participation Terms: Free | No reservation required
Hours: Saturday, September 19, 2026 — 9:30 AM–6:00 PM | Sunday, September 20, 2026 — 9:30 AM–6:00 PM
Gourmet market and arts and crafts at Château du Mesnil Voysin in Bouray-sur-Juine
In the courtyard of the common areas and the grand salon, a gourmet and artisan market unfolds.
More than 60 exhibitors:
For the gourmet market: foie gras, goat cheese, wines and spirits, crepes, apple juice (made on site in front of visitors), bread baked at the castle (see the visit to the bread oven), honey, sausages, Creole products, biscuits. All exhibitors are local producers and artisans.
For the crafts: porcelain painting, slate painting, wood turning, marquetry, upholsterer, glass engraving, lace-making, embroidery, blacksmith, roofers, dollhouse, jewelry, glass-bead making, salt-dough, etc... (local associations and artisans).
How to participate: Free | No reservation required
Hours: Saturday, September 19, 2026 — 9:30 AM to 6:00 PM | Sunday, September 20, 2026 — 9:30 AM to 6:00 PM
Exhibition of classic, collectible and exceptional cars
Exhibition of classic, collectible, and extraordinary cars
More than fifteen brands represented by over sixty cars, weather permitting.
Some exhibitors may offer test drives.
Owners of collectible vehicles are welcome to drop by—we’d be glad to see them! The park can host more than 200 cars on display.
Renseignements :
Francis: 06 27 31 35 73
Laurent: 07 72 04 53 44
* Frédéric: 06 73 66 99 74
Participation requirements: Free | No reservation required
Hours: Saturday, September 19, 2026 – 9:30 AM to 6:00 PM | Sunday, September 20, 2026 – 9:30 AM to 6:00 PM
Traditional Apple Juice-Making Workshop
Production and sale of apple juice.
Visitors will be invited to join in the juice-making process by turning the grinder and/or the press.
On-site sales run by and for the benefit of a local association.
Participation requirements: Free | No reservation required
Schedule: Saturday, September 19, 2026, 10:00–18:00 | Sunday, September 20, 2026, 10:00–18:00
Book signing by the owner of Mesnil-Voysin Castle in Bouray-sur-Juine
Choosing your 4x4 to travel through life: the title works as both a question (How do you choose your 4x4?) and a directive (You must choose your 4x4). Otherwise, how will we travel?
As you’ve guessed, we’re not at the car show but at the salon of self-reflection. The author, an active entrepreneur, wants to share his experience to invite everyone to find their own anchor points, their “driving wheels,” to navigate existence with serenity. The mythical 4x4 powerfully conjures crew, adventure, challenge, dream, efficiency, sobriety, a taste for nature, novelty, the ability to overcome obstacles, openness to others, knowledge of the terrain… these values are handy in discovering this unknown land: ourselves. This 4x4 isn’t bought; it’s built by assembling the pieces we uncover.
Bertrand de Beaugrenier, an agricultural engineer and ESSEC graduate, is a business leader in real estate. Now a grandfather, he is passionate about heritage and transmission. He owns the largest private site in France registered as a historic monument, where eight full-time workers are employed. He regularly runs days of knowledge-sharing for young people. He aims to help the younger generation grow through his personal experiences, just as he himself was shaped by his grandparents and his close circle.
Participation terms: Free | No reservation required
Hours: Saturday, September 19, 2026 - 10:30 ⤏ 17:00 | Sunday, September 20, 2026 - 10:30 ⤏ 17:00
It's going to be a busy weekend! And don't miss the heritage treasures opening their doors near you this cultural weekend.
Heritage Days 2026: the must-see places to discover in Essonne (91)
The 2026 Heritage Days offer a unique chance to explore the hidden treasures of Essonne (91). From September 19 to 20, 2026, you’ll be able to discover historic sites and unusual places that open their doors for the occasion. A weekend not to be missed. [Read more]
Heritage Days 2026 also offers the chance to visit the castles of Île-de-France, often for free! Kings and queens, princes, emperors, nobles of every kind... Step in the footsteps of these towering figures in French history and discover their magnificent residences, on 19 and 20 September 2026. [Read more]
Dates and Opening Time
From September 19, 2026 to September 20, 2026
Location
Mesnil-Voysin Castle
1 Rue de Lardy
91850 Bouray sur Juine
Prices
Free
Heritage Days 2026: the must-see places to discover in Essonne (91)
Heritage Days 2026: Exploring the region’s most beautiful castles in Paris and Île-de-France
