Château de Nades, Castle ruins in Nades, France

The Château de Nades, also called the Château du Parc, is a ruined red-brick and white-stone building about 1 km east of Nades. Its central block has a steep slate roof with dormers and spires, and a square crenellated tower stands to the right. A broad stone staircase with a balustrade leads down to a gravel forecourt.

From 1853 the Duke of Morny, half-brother of Napoleon III, bought back the Nades estate piece by piece and had a new residence built, called the Château du Parc, with a model farm in its grounds. He entertained Jacques Offenbach, Ludovic Halévy and Alphonse Daudet there, who stayed and hunted on the 2,000-hectare domain. A fire destroyed the château in 1877; only ruins remain.

The castle welcomed personalities such as Jacques Offenbach and Alphonse Daudet in its salons, library, and billiard room.

The ruins lie about 1 km east of Nades village, in the Allier department. Two paths reach them: one leaves the D 998 in the Forêt des Colettes, the other comes from the village. Do not confuse the site with the vanished medieval castle once located between the village church and the pond feeding the Cèpe stream.

The model farm Morny added to the estate still stands in the park today. Built of red brick and white stone like the château, it is arranged in an L and flanked by two Chinese-style towers, with gardens and greenhouses on one side and stables and barns on the other.