Château des Rochers-Sévigné, Medieval castle and museum in Vitré, France

The Château des Rochers-Sévigné is a 15th-century Gothic manor built on a rocky hill, from which it takes its name. It follows an L-shaped plan with two towers, and its rough grey-brown stone walls carry steep slate roofs with dormers and tall chimneys. An octagonal chapel built in 1671 stands on the grounds, with 18th-century stables and outbuildings.

The manor was built in the 15th century in Gothic style on a rocky hill, which gave it its name, by ancestors of Henri de Sévigné. In 1410 Anne de Mathefelon brought the seigneury to Guillaume III de Sévigné by marriage, and the estate stayed in the family for three centuries. Charles de Sévigné died childless in 1713; in 1715 it was sold for 106,000 livres to Jean-Paul Hay, marquis des Nétumières. It has been a listed monument since 20 March 1995.

Madame de Sévigné stayed at the Rochers repeatedly after her husband's death and wrote many of her letters to her daughter Françoise, Countess of Grignan, here. She named every alley of the wooded park herself, and the curved echo wall at the back of the garden served her readings to her daughter. The chapel and part of the manor display family portraits and objects that belonged to the marquise.

The chapel and part of the manor are open to visitors, with family portraits and objects that belonged to the marquise on display. The French-style garden, laid out in 1689 and restored in 1982, lies beside a wooded park whose alleys Madame de Sévigné named herself. A golf course, a restaurant and reception rooms now occupy part of the property, so the historic rooms and the garden are best seen as two separate stops.

At the back of the garden, a curved wall returns an echo to anyone standing on a marked slab; Madame de Sévigné used it to read her letters aloud to her daughter, Françoise de Sévigné, countess of Grignan. The wooded park's alleys were all named by her.