It was built on the former château at the center of the domains of Diane's deceased husband, Louis de Brézé, seigneur d'Anet, Marshal of Normandy and Master of the Hunt.

The château, which faced the south, was built partly upon the foundations and cellar vaults of a feudal castle that had been dismantled by Charles V and was subsequently rebuilt as a Late Gothic manor of brick and stone.

West of the left-hand court, the Cour de gauche, was Diane's mortuary chapel, as well as an aviary and heronry.

In 1581, Henri III and his mother Catherine de' Medici came to the chapel to attend the baptism of the infant son of Charles, duc d'Aumale.

In 1576, Diane's daughter Louise de Brézé transferred ownership of the château to her son Charles, Duke of Aumale.

In 1610, the Duke was bankrupted by his heavy debts and one of his creditors, Marie of Luxembourg, Duchess of Penthièvre, laid claim to the château.

[14] A third story was added to the corps de logis to increase the accommodation and the wing on the left-hand side was rebuilt.

[15][14] The gardens, which had fallen into neglect over the years, were destroyed, and the redesign of the parkland entrusted to André Le Nôtre.

The festivities cost the Duke of Vendôme more than 100,000 livres, so much money that Louis XIV would only consent to his son returning for another visit on the condition that the expenses be paid by himself.

The set of tapestry hangings woven for the château, in Paris, to cartoons by Jean Cousin, forming a History of Diana in compliment to Diane de Poitiers, is now widely scattered;[18] it set a precedent for suites of Diana-themed tapestries that remained popular into the 18th century.

The entry pavilion for Chateau d'Anet was the inspiration for the façade of Robert Venturi's 1966 Guild House for the Elderly in Philadelphia.