Nearly 80,000 visitors to the Château de Rambouillet: record attendance in 2024

The gamble of the Center des monuments nationaux (CNM) has paid off. Over the past year, 79,139 visitors have visited the Château de Rambouillet (Yvelines). According to figures communicated this week by the CNM, the former presidential residence is recording record attendance, with an increase of 28% compared to 2023.

This obvious enthusiasm is linked to the opening to the public of part of the presidential apartments since December 2024. This new tour route, an unprecedented immersion in an area of ​​the castle which had never been revealed, is the result of a partnership with the National Furniture. The castle has been working on this project since 2021.

This essential monument of Yvelines lost its vocation as a presidential residence in 2018. The abandonment of its official use made it possible to imagine this exceptional visit: four fully furnished bedrooms and the living room, in the heart of the marble room. These spaces were until now reserved for the president and his guests.

“Clear tourist potential”

Former administrator of the Château de Chambord (Loir-et-Cher) and general director of that of Fontainebleau (Seine-et-Marne), she made this prediction: “The Château de Rambouillet is the first presidential residence which opens to the public: this dimension will become his trademark. The adventure has obvious tourist potential. »

The figures have just proven him right. The Center for National Monuments mentions “an essentially national attendance and more particularly from Ile-de-France, but we can note the emergence of international visitors”. The American clientele has thus increased by 10% in 2024 and the castle now also attracts Asian visitors, who represent 15% of foreign attendance.

The restoration of Napoleon’s apartment for 2.5 million euros is also a point of interest within the castle grounds. From 1804, the emperor made it his place of retreat between two military campaigns. The Center des monuments nationaux has undertaken a vast restoration project, completed in the fall of 2023.

The renovation of the presidential zone will continue

“Since this masterful restoration, we have used Napoleon’s apartment as a point of support, his ties to Rambouillet being less known than to Fontainebleau. But this visit is more classic than the tour in the presidential apartment, which arouses immense enthusiasm,” comments Isabelle de Gourcuff.

The renovation and “refurnishing” of the presidential area by Mobilier national will continue with the opening to the public, from the beginning of 2026, of an additional room which will highlight the Giscard d’Estaing era. .

On November 14, to mark the fiftieth anniversary of the G 6, the castle will offer a conference on the theme “What remains of the G 6? “. On November 14, 1975, Giscard d’Estaing brought together the heads of state of the six most industrialized countries in Rambouillet. In the dining room, the huge table that was set for this occasion is identically recreated and also open to visitors.