chateau des milandes

Whether or not you are overly interested in Josephine Baker, the grounds, the views, and the chateau itself are worth the visit. Josephine Baker's story is one of independence and daring. I was unaware of her Resistance work during WW2. During our visit we were fortunate to be there just in time to see the Birds of Prey show. It was very well done in a small, intimate area. I have seen several of these types of shows before but this was one of the best - but then of course, we were in France!!! If you have a extra hour or so, or have kids with you, you might be surprised.

I really love this place, we have been a couple of times now. I just love the bathrooms which I think are done in the theme of perfumes. Josephine Baker is such and interesting character and her story is fascinating.

You learn something new every day... an interesting insight into life for the monied of yesteryear. Also an interesting story of the African American singer/dancer finding a welcoming life of opportunity and privilege among the French.

Amazing place, amazing story. Don't miss this at any cost if you find yourselves in the Dordogne and love music art and culture.

Chateau des Milandes, one of Josephine Baker's homes in France, is beautiful. An audio tour fully describes her life and each room of the Chateau. Many of her costumes are on display in one of the rooms while another room depicts her participation during World War II when she worked with the Red Cross, gathered intelligence for the French Resistance and entertained troops in Africa and the Middle East. Outside, the bird of prey show was entertaining and amazing. The birds flew right over the audience's heads. The grounds are beautiful and the intricate architecture on the exterior of the chateau is captivating. Just beautiful and definitely worth a visit.

There is not enough space to describe the life of African-American dancer Josephine Baker. From 1947 until about 1970, this was her home. It is a restored historical chateau, but the interior decor is more like 1950s America, inside a beautiful French chateau. There are hundreds of pictures and costumes she wore in her career. It's a fascinating story--better than the chateau itself. The location is not well signed, until you get close. If you go across the bridge to Castlenaud, then take an immediate right turn and follow along the road by the river, you will find it. There is falconry exhibition at 2:30 (I think one other time as well) that is enjoyable. I would not pay for the audio tour--the free booklet in English is more than sufficient, with a very long description of her life imbedded in the tour description.

We visited Chateau des Milandes in July. It is a very impressive building with lovely gardens and views and some caged birds. The tour describing Josephine Baker’s life is very informative and the display of birds of prey is interesting although 99% of it was in French.

We did not plan to stop here but thanks to some free time decided to do it and were amazed! Charming and picturesque chateau once inhabited by Josephine Baker. Her museum is very interesting and educational. Falcon and exotic birds show on premises was fantastic. It starts at 11am. We had lunch at the restaurant next to chateau - nice and affordable. The museum has a souvenir shop mostly dedicated to the life of Josephine Baker. We spent more than 3 hours there and did not want to leave - it is so romantic and beautiful.

Really interesting and well presented , good to see furniture and artifacts from the life of such an intersting artist.what a girl !

We were pleasantly surprised by the way Josephine Baker fixed up this castle. The rooms are beautifully decorated and have an old charm, and also a sadness when one learns more about her final years. The restaurant on the premises has a quaint outdoor terrace... Food is adequate...Friendly service and reasonable prices. We recommend visiting this wonderful chateau in this strikingly beautiful Dordogne valley.

Having read a biography many years ago of the early-twentieth century life of the scandalous American mulatto singer/entertainer Josephine Baker - an icon of the Art Deco era - I was interested to visit the chateau where she had lived, bought, modernised and raised an adopted family of twelve children of varied races and backgrounds. Angela Jolie/ Madonna - eat your heart out.She left the US when she was in her late teens and quickly achieved fame and fortune in Paris through her erotic dance routines and singing ability. Wide acclaim followed from admirers including Picasso, Hemmingway and Georges Simenon and continued through the years, even being befriended by later stars such as Grace Kelly and Bridgette Bardot. Her interesting life is outlined in reasonable detail in the English headphone commentary which is available at the cash desk.The chateau itself is pretty, but the Baker connection and how she influenced it and the environs are what render the visit a really worthwhile experience.The little courtyard bistro offers a good-value selection, though the birds of prey show left me a little unimpressed - I have seen better. Nevertheless, the entry charge is reasonable and the location is charming,

We visited in May this year, what a magical place! We learned a lot about Josephine Baker whose home it used to be. A very talented lady and very brave who worked hard for the Resistance during WW2. The grounds are lovely and there is a very reasonable on site Restaurant to complete the trip. The entry includes a falconry displays which is well worth watching!

Prior to visiting the chateau I had never heard of Josephine Baker, now I feel I know all about her and wow, what a life! what a lady.The chateau itself is very pleasant, not as grand as the huge sprawling Chateau's of the Loire but still very impressive, set in well tended grounds the rear of the chateau has eye pleasing views across the French countryside and the chateau itself has been well maintained. Before entering the Chateau I sat and watched the bird of prey display, obviously the falconer's running commentary was in his native language but that did not dampen my enjoyment at all, indeed without his commentary it was obvious what the display was all about. The entirety of the chateau's interior is given to the life of Josephine Baker, every room dedicated to various times of her life, be it her career as a showgirl, her time as a resistance operative during WW2 and her later years when she adopted her children, some of the rooms she personally designed are as they were when she lived in the Chateau most notably the bathrooms. I spent about 4 hours at the Chateau, each minute as enjoyable as the first.

Visited the chateau and were fascinated by the story of Josephine Baker. We had never heard of her before but found the place very interesting and all the exhibits from her life added to the interest.We then saw the Birds of Prey show, unfortunately the presentation was all in French but we could get the gist of what was being said. The birds performed very well and we really enjoyed this part of the visit. We then walked around the grounds and bird cages. There is a good cafe.We really enjoyed our visit - the chateau is so pretty - and very different to the neaby Castlenaud. Would definitely recommend a visit and the entrance fee was very reasonable.

Highly recommended! Not just a bog-standard tour of a Chateau, but a genuinely interesting story of a truly inspirational woman. I'm from a generation that hasn't really heard of Josephine Baker, but she is surely a woman who deserves to have her amazing and often heroic contributions remembered and celebrated. The tour tells the story of her life, you feel inspired and then ultimately saddened by where she found herself before her untimely death. As an added bonus, the falconry display (which is included in your entry ticket) was thoroughly enjoyable and informative.