Visits
Visit the Château de La Vigne in Ally, Cantal
Château de La Vigne is open to visitors every day except Sunday mornings, from 1 July to 31 August, from 11am to 12pm and from 2pm to 7pm.
You can buy your tickets directly at the venue or on Patrivia.fr.
Tours of the château are guided. They take place throughout the day. The park and exhibitions, on the other hand, are open to the public.
Advance booking is optional.
What to do at Château de La Vigne
Opening times
Open daily from 1 July to 31 August.
Out of season on request
- 11am to 12pm and 2pm to 7pm
- closed on Sunday mornings and on the morning of 15 August
- Initiation to wild picking on Wednesdays in July and August at 3pm
- departure of the last guided tour of the château at 6pm
- free tour of the collections and grounds
Guided tour of the Château:
- Adults: 7 €
- Children, 6-12 years: Half-price
- Children, – 6 years: Free
Exhibitions :
On the footpaths
– Miniature car show
– Dolls of the world
- Adults: 7 €
- Children, 6-12 years: Half-price
- Children, – 6 years: Free
Wild picking:
- Adults: 10 €
- Children, 6-12 years: Half-price
- Children, – 6 years: Free
The packages:
Visit the Château + walkways & exhibitions:
- Adults: 9 €
- Children, 6-12 years: Half-price
- Children, – 6 years: Free
Park visit + Panorama and orientation table package:
- Adults: 3 €
- Children, 6-12 years: Demi-tarif
- Children, – 6 years: Gratuit
The spacious car park for cars, coaches and camper vans is located at the entrance to the château.
Holiday vouchers and CB accepted
> From 15 adults
Visit the castle + walkways and exhibitions
- Adults: 7 €
- Children: Demi-tarif
May, June, September and October: on request
Inside the walls of Château de La Vigne
Follow the guide
As you climb the main staircase to the top of the keep, you can admire the “studiolo”. This room, highly prized in Italy but rare in France, is a former archive room transformed into a kind of curiosity cabinet, and is of great beauty. The murals and decoration on its walls were painted in the Italian style around 1530, and have recently been restored. Look up and contemplate the vaulted ceiling, with its rich antique decor featuring putti, foliage and characters from Ovid’s Metamorphoses. The walls depict hunting scenes, including the conversion of Saint Hubert. The rest of the tour will take you through the living and reception rooms, and on to the Gothic castral chapel, not forgetting the exhibition in the battlements.
In the park of Château de La Vigne
Wild picking & self-guided tour
Wild picking
An introduction to wild gathering with the chatelaine, following in the footsteps of Jean-Jacques Rousseau, is offered in the grounds of the château on Wednesdays in July and August, or on request. Together, we’ll forage in front of the magnificent panorama of the Monts du Cantal. You’ll learn about the rules of picking, the medicinal and culinary properties of the plants that grow at your feet, and their warnings.
Thanks to your 5 senses, you’ll find it easy to memorise and become familiar with plants.
Self-guided tour
A self-guided tour will allow you to discover at your own pace the wonders of the park, which has been listed as a World Heritage Site since 1944. The garden, overlooking the Auze valley, faces due east and offers a panoramic view of the Parc Naturel des Volcans d’Auvergne, itself a superb and spectacular backdrop to the Cantal mountains, valleys, villages and lush green meadows of the Salers planèze.
Discover the surrounding area thanks to the enamelled lava orientation table.
Testimonials
We were also able to admire the collections in the walkways.
Highly recommended!
The chatelaine is very friendly and accessible, I recommend it.
A place to visit if you want to step out of time.
On the footpaths of the Château de La Vigne
Exhibition of cars and dolls
The special feature of the Château de La Vigne is its walkways, which house two extremely rare exhibitions. A collection of 4,500 miniature cars and vintage car toys, bearing witness to the history of the miniature automobile, is displayed in some sixty showcases. Alongside them, you can admire 1,500 folk dolls from the four corners of the world, in a wide variety of styles and colourful costumes.
Miniature Car Show
In the old battlements and on 200 m², an exceptional exhibition, rare in Europe, of 4,500 miniature cars, scale models and old toys, presented in 70 themed showcases.
Round of Dolls of the World
Beneath the 15th-century roof timbers are 1,500 dolls from the four corners of the world, assembled over 70 years of collecting by successive chatelaines. An enchantment of colourful costumes and folk fashions.
For children (and those who have remained children)
Costumed tour
Children can follow the tour in costumes hired from reception.
Some adults also enjoy dressing up!
Any special requests?
Call us for a made-to-measure service.
Contactez us:
chateaudelavigne@gmail.fr
