Valognes, La Basse Normandie, Address available on request

An 18th century mansion house and its garden, both listed as French Historic monuments, in the so-called 'Little Norman Versailles' on the Cotentin Peninsula. Administrative capital of the Cotentin Peninsula from the Middle-Ages through to the 18th century, Valognes is a royal town and an important legal centre. As of the reign of Louis Xiv, the flourishing town saw the construction of a large number of mansion houses, of which about forty or so still exist today. The 'Hôtel Dorléans' stands slightly set back off a square, on the corner of a street. On the side, a large gateway, decorated with protruding quoins, opens into a paved courtyard that borders the rear facade and a stairway tower. Two stairways provide access to a garden laid out on a higher level than the house. A double garage can be reached via an adjacent street.