Château des Bondons EI ***

Mr. Louis Alexandre Himbert de Flégny, mayor of la Ferté sous Jouarre in 1790, was named Baron by Napoleon 1st in 1809 and then had a castle built on "les terres aux Abymes" during the year 1810. In 1870, Georges Ohnet, the writer of Le Maître de Forge, became the purchaser. In 1910, Mr. Henri Nicolas Estier, a shipowner in Marseille, became the new owner. The castle underwent many modifications and changed its name. It will be called the Château de la Noué sur le Gué. The castle's hall will also be decorated by Antoine Marius Simon Ponchin with a huge painting of the Marseille calanques, which has the particularity of being painted on a single immense canvas. During the war of 1914-1918, General Pershing, passing through the castle, planted a fir tree in the park. During the 2nd World War, the castle became the G.Q.G. of the French army, commanded by General Georges and General Gamelin. They can all be seen together in a photo taken in front of the fireplace in the gallery. On May 21, 1940, General Weygand succeeded General Georges in these places. The castle will see a certain General de Gaulle pass through.

The Restaurant in the heart of the chateau hotel faces the lake in the gardens, with large bay windows and a large wooded dining room, on these walls a large canvas painted in 1927 "Port of Marseille." Old parquet flooring like they don't make anymore, wide armchairs, white tablecloths, classic tableware with a touch of modernism.