Château de Simiane

The castle was once the property of Louis and his wife Pauline de Simiane, Marquise de Sévigné's grand daughter. It is because of this young woman that her grandmother's letters were published and became famous around the world. There is therefore a direct link between the two castles, which are only a few kilometres apart: Grignan where the Marquise lived, and Valréas where her grand daughter lived.
The first temporary exhibition at the Château de Simiane, set up at low cost and titled "Patrimoine en maquettes" (heritage models), brought crowds of people to the castle in 2017 as part of the 700th anniversary celebrations for the Enclave of the Popes. Thanks to this success, the town of Valréas has this year set up a museum space to permanently display around 40 models which represent the main cultural buildings in the Enclave of the Popes and the Pays de Grignan. These models were created by Jean-Claude Vangierdegom, a passionate model maker who focuses on architecture.
These models play an important role in the tour of the castle which has thus become a museum of local heritage.
The tour also includes a look around the spectacular 'Salon d'honneur' and a climb to the lookout point which boasts a beautiful panorama over the town of Valréas and surrounding landscapes.

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