Château de Bocaud, Classical-style castle in Jacou, France

Château de Bocaud is a classical-style castle in Jacou, Hérault, built in 1618 by Pierre de Bocaud. Its west wing retains a suite of rooms with 17th-century wood panelling, while the building was extensively remodelled in the 18th century. A salon displays a ceiling of plasterwork illustrating La Fontaine's Fables, added around 1760. The stone facade includes an arched niche with a draped statue, and a metal railing runs above the wall.

Raulin Bocaud, a magistrate, settled in Jacou in 1477 and became lord of the village. In 1618 his descendant Pierre de Bocaud built the castle whose structure still stands; his 17th-century woodwork survives in the west wing. The building was heavily remodelled in the 18th century, sold by the family in 1842, and given a Napoleonic-inspired decor between 1873 and 1878. Jacou bought it in 1991 and restored it by 2019.

The name comes from the Bocaud family, whose first recorded member in Jacou, magistrate Raulin Bocaud, settled there in 1477. Pierre de Bocaud, a Protestant magistrate and president of the cour des Aides, abjured in 1624 and converted to Catholicism. Cardinal Richelieu visited him twice, in 1636 and 1642, at his townhouse on rue Salle-l'Évêque in Montpellier.

The castle now houses a municipal library, allowing visitors to explore the historical rooms during regular opening hours. You can walk through the building and see its interiors on your own without needing special arrangements.

The estate contains a grotto-nymphaeum decorated with shells and stones from the 17th century, preserved in its original condition. This underground chamber shows an example of the elaborate garden ornamentation that was fashionable during that era.