Imagine owning 40 bedrooms, five living rooms, two dining rooms, a castle, an Indian palace, a grotto, humongous green gardens, a Greek theater, and a greenhouse, all in the same property.
That’s what renowned French architect Jacques Garcia acquired 30 years ago when he bought what is now known to be the most expensive house in the world.
In 1992, Jacques bought the Château du Champ-de-Bataille located in Normandy, France, which was designed in 1652 by royal architect Louis Le Vau, the same baroque artist who designed the Palace of Versailles.
A YouTuber toured the Château du Champ-de-Bataille, known as the most expensive house in the world
Image credits: Erik Conover
Image credits: Erik Conover
YouTuber and real estate agent Erik Van Conover recently brought his 2.46M subscribers on a tour of the massive property, which, according to his account, necessitated a golf cart to get around.
“This is a piece of living history,” Erik exclaimed as he revealed that the impressive estate had been passed through various owners over the years following the fall of the French royal family during the 18th-century French Revolution.
The Château du Champ-de-Bataille had subsequently served at some point as a field hospital during World War II, before becoming abandoned and run down.
The estate was passed through various owners following the fall of the French royal family during the 18th-century French Revolution
Image credits: Erik Conover
The extensive gardens were designed by the renowned French gardener André Le Notre
Image credits: Wikimedia Commons
Now owned by Jacques, it has been restored to its initial extravagant state, refurbished and expanded, with rumors suggesting that the architect is still buying a piece of art for the property daily.
Starting the tour with the main gardens, Erik revealed that Jacques had found the original field plans in the Château, and had used them to recondition the terrain to its original majestic state by excavating the plot to make them exactly how they would've been 400 years ago.
The property features a castle, an Indian palace, a grotto, humongous green gardens, a Greek theater, and a greenhouse
Image credits: Erik Conover
Image credits: Erik Conover
The gardens feature theatrical fountains which cost €20,000 (almost $22,000) to simply turn on.
“You could have a jet ski in here, that’s how large this is,” Erik blurted out as he pointed to the fountains.
Image credits: Erik Conover
Image credits: Erik Conover
The YouTuber further disclosed that it takes a team of 15 full-time staff members encompassing the best gardeners in Europe to maintain and create the garden’s elaborate designs, which include huge bush chess pieces and gorgeous mazes.
“The garden is based on the principle of imposing order and symmetry over the land,” Erik explained.
The real estate expert went on to visit the Château’s Greek theater, which was inspired by Greek temples initially discovered by archeologists during the 17th century.
Owner Jacques Garcia built the grotto in 2020 as a result of boredom during the pandemic
Image credits: Erik Conover
Image credits: Erik Conover
The wealthiest families often tried to reproduce Greek landmarks as traveling was too expensive, and therefore wanted to bring guests over to Greece in their backyard instead, Erik explained.
The content creator further announced that Jacques had brought in 600 containers of actual material from India in order to build the Indian palace in 1992.
“He has parties where he brings elephants, tigers, and bears,” Erik stated.
Image credits: Erik Conover
Image credits: Erik Conover
Amongst a plethora of unique components found in the palace, the YouTuber showed a library built into a hallway, an indoor swimming pool, and an outdoor pool measuring 100 meters, the length of two Olympic swimming pools.
The grotto was displayed next, a more recent element built on Jacques’ property, born out of pure pandemic-fueled lethargy.
“In 2020 the owner got bored, so he built a grotto with a waterfall cascading down volcanic lava rocks," Erik explained.
Remarkable features in the castle include original art from the French Revolution
Image credits: Erik Conover
Image credits: Erik Conover
The unique grotto hides a temple-like structure with a centerpiece surrounded by statues of Greek gods.
The YouTuber soon after took his viewers along for a viewing of the legendary greenhouse, which at first glance gave prominence to a collection of beautiful blue vases and art from all over the world.
As Erik walked through a floating bridge with water on either side with tropical plants everywhere, he exclaimed: “This is insane, this is crazy.”
Image credits: Erik Conover
Image credits: Erik Conover
The real estate enthusiast gave a brief demonstration while playing on a Steinway & Sons piano, which had been owned by no other than Henry E. Steinway himself, the German piano builder who founded the reputable instrument company.
Another special component of the greenhouse emerged as the 400-year-old ferns, which were seemingly as old as the Château.
Finally, Erik gave a glimpse of the castle, as he had spent a night there.
However, he briefly stated that his sleepover hadn’t been as grandiose as one might’ve imagined as he admitted: “It wasn’t the best sleep but it wasn’t the worst.”
The YouTuber was only able to share one-quarter of the Château as an entire wing had been privatized, as it is where Jacques lives.
“Everything in here is authentic,” Erik said as he pointed to exquisite silverware and a stupefying collection of artifacts, including portraits of young and old versions of Marie Antoinette.
The castle also features a double-height ceiling library with more than 20,000 historical books, a subterranean kitchen, and a dead zoo
Image credits: Erik Conover
The enthusiastic estate savant turned to a flamboyant wheelchair, which he explained had been used by Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette’s son, Louis-Joseph, who suffered from a spine deformation.
More remarkable features in the castle included original art from the French Revolution, a double-height ceiling library with more than 20,000 historical books, a subterranean kitchen, and a dead zoo.
“Everything here is authentic,” Erik exclaimed as he highlighted two vases that had been gifted to Napoleon by the king of Sweden.
Image credits: Erik Conover
The Château also housed more bizarre collections, such as actual human bodies that had been mummified, from Egypt.
With rooms to rent and a restaurant, Erik struggled to put an estimated value on the entire property.
He did, however, reveal that an undisclosed offer had been recently made “in the multiple 10-figure range” to purchase the home.
Nevertheless, Jacques had reportedly declined the eye-watering offer.
You can watch the tour below:
Image credits: Erik Conover
Various parts of the Château are available for rent for events and weddings, while tours of the estates are also provided for those curious to explore the premises for a day.
Moreover, one night at one of the castle’s fancy rooms amounts to approximately €320 (around $351), as per Airbnb.
People were stunned by the extraordinary castle
