I was lucky enough to be present for the shooting of the films made for television, “Cartouche, Le Brigand Magnifique” with Fréderic Diefenthal and “Richelieu, la Pourpre et le Sang” with Jacques Perrin. Visits of the chateau showed theatrical backdrops and the sets were not yet organised as they often are today, but to see the chateau and the gardens complete with decor and costumes was to see it reliving the past. Meeting musketeers, seeing Cardinal Richelieu in his chair, or taking a walk with Louis XIII became, for a few days, the everyday life of the Chateau de Bourdeilles.

Despite its tumultuous past, the site is full of beauty and serenity. Its magic really comes into its own at the moment the sun meets the stone. As the great gates are opened, the rising sun floods the courtyard before spilling into the gardens while the setting sun warmly embraces the majestic keep. A unique performance…