In the early 16th century, it was purchased by Louis XII's treasurer Jean Cottereau, who transformed the castle into a country house.

[1] The château's main features are the keep, constructed in the 13th century, and the principal corps de logis, flanked by three round towers, one at the avant-cour and the others at the bridge across the moat.

The east and west wings frame a cour d'honneur, beyond which is the moat filled by the waters of the Eure, and, beyond, the parterre and park.

The picturesque massing of the varied towers and roofs pleased François-René de Chateaubriand who found its special character was like that of an abbey or an old town, "with its spires and steeples, grouped at haphazard".

The main parterre was designed by the famous landscape architect André Le Nôtre[1] who also worked at Versailles, Saint-Germain-en-Laye and Marly.