House with poolAuxerre (89)

A Napoleonic mansion in tree-dotted grounds nestled in a medieval winegrowing town in Burgundy, two hours from Paris. In 1815, Napoleon Bonaparte returned from his exile on the island of Elba, travelling up to Paris. He stopped off in Burgundy from 17 to 19 March. There he met up with Marshal Ney. His troops bivouacked on the outskirts of this town and on the site of this property. Almost half a century later, in 1854, during the Second French Empire, a family of Parisian magistrates built a town mansion here in a Napoleon III style. This mansion was transformed in 1980 and became a 25-room hotel. Today, each of the 25 hotel rooms here bears the name of a marshal who served under Napoleon I.
The old dwelling is made of dressed stone and stands on a large avenue. Its slate mansard roof is punctuated with arched dormers and bull’s-eye windows. The property’s original metal railings still enclose it. Pillars of dressed stone are evenly spaced out along these railings, which stand on a low stone wall. The pedestrian entrance is a metal gate framed between two pillars of dressed stone, each crowned with a cast-iron vase. Beyond this gate, a footpath in the middle of a gravel court leads up to a small flight of stone steps adorned with a pair of Medici vases. Vehicles can enter the property via two other original entrances, which are broader. They are located on both sides of the pedestrian entrance and are framed between brick and stone pillars. A large two-floor caretaker’s house stands beside the outdoor entrance area. Nearby, around 30 cars can be parked in a car park on the property.
The mansion’s rear elevation faces the property’s vast enclosed grounds dotted with majestic age-old trees and clusters of flowering plants. There are a few terraces on the grounds and an authentic stone table with old stone benches. This beautiful outdoor space includes a heated swimming pool too. This pool is 10 metres long and 5 metres wide. It is heated with mains gas. Lastly, there is an old greenhouse on the grounds. It is made of wrought iron and needs to be restored.