Visit Auvergne

The Château de Montfleury: Rustic Charm in the Heart of Auvergne’s Tuscany

There are many reasons to visit Auvergne’s Tuscany, and the Château de Montfleury is certainly one of them. Set among the verdant hills and meadowlands outside Vic-le-Comte, the Château de Montfleury — with its red-roofed pigeonniers and Italianate courtyard — looks like something out of the film Under the Tuscan Sun


Château de Montfleury. © Guillaume Fournier et P. de Rocquigny

The property also has a distant link to one of the most famous dynasties of the Florentine Renaissance: the Medicis. In the early sixteenth-century, it belonged to François de Guesle, a country gentleman and favourite of Catherine de’ Medici, the Queen of France.


Today’s Montfleury still exudes the rustic elegance of its former ages, all thanks to its current owners Pascal and Corinne de Rocquigny. Passionate about Auvergne and its heritage, the two have spent years restoring it to its past glory and transforming its halls into spacious guest rooms and event halls. 



While Corinne originally hails from Paris, her husband grew up in Vichy. The two fell in love with the property in 2013 and — after acquiring it — started work on its refurbishment. The project, which lasted over a decade, was a labour of love. “I love this space,” Corinne told me. She smiled nostalgically. “But working on it certainly has not been easy. Old castles can be very delicate. In a way, taking care of them is like watching young children. You really have to be very attentive and monitor everything closely. There’s always work to be done!”



During the restoration, Pascal and Corinne made the decision to enhance Montfleury’s Renaissance Italian aesthetics. “This part of Auvergne has exceptional beauty,” Corinne told me. “It’s like Italy. So with this house we wanted to highlight the Italian aspect — the kind of ambience one might experience in the Tuscan countryside.”


Pascal and Corinne also wanted to create a comfortable and welcoming setting for weddings, conferences, exhibitions, and other events. “We run tours of the castle and its park in the summer, but for the rest of the year our doors remain open for large events,” she said. We also offer a number of climatised guestrooms, which are generally reserved for group bookings.”



As I strolled with Corinne around the park, she showed me some of the trees she’s been planting. “There’s so much beauty here,” she said as she surveyed the view. “That’s why it’s such a pleasure to have guests and to share in their joy.”

Click here for more information on the Château de Montfleury.