Château de la Chesnaie, Historic castle in Eaubonne, France

Château de la Chesnaie is a classical French castle in Eaubonne featuring symmetrical facades, multiple stories, and large stone-framed windows. The building displays the typical proportions and layout of French noble estates, with carefully organized architectural elements throughout its structure.

The estate belonged to the Meaux seigneurie, held in the 15th century by Jean de Meaux, a vassal of the Montmorency family. In the 18th century the Tricher brothers, Parisian bourgeois, rebuilt or extensively repaired the manor between 1749 and 1769, possibly to plans by Claude-Nicolas Ledoux. Classified as a monument historique on 21 March 1979, it was restored from 1941 to 1945 by architect Jean-Charles Moreux, who removed 19th-century additions.

The name La Chesnaie replaced Meaux only after 1905, when Charles Petit-Midy bought the plot; the estate had been sold off in 209 parcels by Bernheim-frères from 1903 under the name La grille dorée. The ground-floor and basement rooms are rented for events, while the former 1.5-hectare kitchen garden, given to the commune, is now a public garden.

The château stands at 1 rue Voltaire in Eaubonne, about 14 km northwest of Paris. The owners live on site and rent the ground-floor and basement rooms for events, so access to the interior depends on bookings. The property can be visited for a fee during the summer season.

The gardener's house where Countess Sophie Lalive de Houdetot lived from 1757 to 1762 stood on the grounds; Jean-Jacques Rousseau confessed his love to her in the park in June 1757, as he later wrote in his Confessions. The banker Félix Gabriel Dehaynin had the house demolished after buying the estate in 1864. The 1.5-hectare kitchen garden was given to the commune and is now a public garden.