Where presidents, Proust and Pompadour slept - PHOTO

Nicknamed Le Petit Versailles (Little Versailles), the Château de Champs-sur-Marne is an early 18th-century architectural gem some 18km east of Paris. Reopened in June 2013 following a seven-year, six-million-euro renovation, Champs-sur-Marne typifies the French classical architectural style – and is one of the rare properties in the region to have both a perfectly preserved castle and garden.The castle was built between 1703 and 1707 for the prominent financier Paul Poisson de Bourvallais by father-son architect team Pierre Bullet and Jean-Baptiste Bullet de Chamblain. But around 1716, de Bourvallais found himself in the Bastille on charges of embezzlement – and the chateau was seized by the crown. It passed through many hands before Count Louis Cahen d'Anvers purchased and restored it in 1895. His son, Charles Cahen d'Anvers, donated the property to the state of France in 1935, hoping it would become a presidential residence. He also asked that the chateau and furniture remain exactly as they were at the time of donation. (Richelle Harrison Plesse)(BBC)ANN.Az