Château de la Gaudinière, Historic château in Breil-Barberie district, Nantes, France.

Château de la Gaudinière is a three-storey château in the Breil-Barberie district, built between 1864 and 1873 by architect Léon Lenoir on the site of an earlier residence. Its symmetrical facade mixes red brick with light stone quoins; the taller central block carries a grey slate mansard roof with three dormer windows, flanked by lower wings under hipped slate roofs. Tall stone-framed windows line the ground floor, and an arched central doorway is reached by a short flight of steps.

Construction took place from 1864 to 1873 under architect Léon Lenoir, replacing an earlier mansion that belonged to Louis Chaurand, a shipowner from Nantes. The rebuilding demonstrates the wealth and architectural ambitions of the city's merchant class during the industrial era.

The estate's name comes from the Gaudinière family, and its English-style garden was laid out with landscape architect Provost for banker J. Brousset. The Goüin family, friends and former neighbours of Balzac in Tours, planted magnolias and bald cypresses newly arrived from the Americas. The Belot family restored the grounds from 1918 with the Lizé brothers, Nantes horticulturist-landscapers.

The property is accessible to visitors and located in an established neighborhood with good public transportation options. Walking paths throughout the grounds allow exploration of the gardens and exterior features at a leisurely pace.

A giant sequoia from North America was planted in 1864 and stands near the castle as a living record of 19th-century enthusiasm for exotic plant collections. This old tree remains a rare botanical reminder from an era when such species first arrived in Europe.