Centre des monuments nationaux

Discover the château where Voltaire spent the last twenty years of his life at Ferney, on the edge of the Haut-Jura Natural Regional Park lying near the Swiss border.

Visiting Voltaire's château in Ferney

• A place celebrating Voltaire's life. Exploring the château of Voltaire (1694-1778) is an ideal way of discovering the playwright and politically committed philosopher with his incisive yet generous turn of mind, both provocative and tolerant, and with an at times ferocious sense of humour. A collection of his works and objects is presented in surroundings that are largely unchanged since he lived there. There is a circuit on the first floor to find out more about the life of this great figure. 

• In Voltaire's footsteps. It is well worth going out into the grounds to visit the hornbeam grove where Voltaire used to walk with his guests. The terrace affords fine views over the Alps from the terrace.

Understanding Voltaire's château in Ferney

• An entire project. Voltaire had the château wholly rebuilt from 1758 on. He had the grounds laid out, and didn't shrink from working in the garden himself. Alternately town planner, entrepreneur, and patron of the arts, Voltaire transformed the town of Ferney along the lines laid out in Candide (1759) and summed up in his famous maxim ‘il faut cultiver notre jardin' (we must tend to our garden). 

• An intense social and literary life. Voltaire continued to combat intolerance and wrote some 6000 letters from Ferney as well as the Dictionnaire Philosophique, the Traité sur la Tolérance, and several tragedies. He staged dramatic works in the château and received guests from all over Enlightenment Europe. The French State bought the château in 1999.