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Privilege Pass price at Mehun-sur-Yèvre: €3 instead of €6 for a visit to the Pôle de la Porcelaine and the Château-Musée Charles VII.
City of Mehun-sur-Yèvre｜Route Jacques CœurWhat you'll love
Activities
Individual visit to the Pôle de la Porcelaine and the Château-Musée Charles VII
Full price: €6
Reduced rate: 3€
Visit to the temporary exhibition at the Pôle de la Porcelaine only: €3
Free: unemployed persons, children under 10, disabled persons
Guided group tour “Discovering white gold”: Visit the Pillivuyt factory or the old porcelain-making districts, followed by a tour of the Pôle de la Porcelaine.
Full price: €10
Duration 2h – Reservations by telephone on 02 48 57 06 19 or by e-mail at pole.porcelaine@ville-mehun-sur-yevre.fr
Guided group tour “In the footsteps of Joan of Arc”: Visit of the old town and the Château-Musée Charles VII
Full price: €10
Reservations by telephone on 02 48 57 00 71 or by e-mail at chateau.museecharles7@ville-mehun-sur-yevre.fr
Schedules of historical activities
Museum open from March 22 to November 2
March, April, October: Saturday and Sunday, 2:30 pm to 6 pm
May, June, September: daily except Mondays, 2:30 pm to 6 pm
July, August: daily from 10:30 am to 12:30 pm and from 2:30 pm to 6:30 pm
Open every day except Mondays from 2:30 to 6:00 pm during the Easter and All Saints’ vacations – Open every public holiday during the season.
Walk along the canals and the Yèvre river
Stroll along the banks of the Canal de Berry with privileged bike access
Free – Year-round
Mehun-sur-Yèvre, Canal de Berry｜VMSYLes Rendez-vous Divins – Exhibitions at the Pôle de la Porcelaine
“Hidden Treasures” from March 22 to November 2, “Josette’s brushes” from March 22 to July 31, “Couleuvre une manufacture à découvrir” from August 1 to November 2
Venetian Carnival
Free
April 26/27 – Departure at 3pm Place du 14 juillet
Rosière 2025
Free
Sunday afternoon, June 1 – Parade departs from rue André Brému, then coronation in the gardens of Duc Jean de Berry
Jardins en Fête
Free
Sundays August 10, 17, 24 and 31 at 5pm in the Duc Jean de Berry gardens
Animations Pôle de la Porcelaine
Children’s workshops on reservation – Program on 02 48 57 06 19
Crime au château
2h investigation – Humor, suspense and comedy, two hours of emotion guaranteed. Become an investigator for an evening. Discover this new type of murder party made in Berry!
Saturday June 21 at 6.30pm and Saturday October 11 at 6pm
Poster Crime Mehun October 2025
Poster Crime Mehun June 2025Practical info
- Annual opening hours
Pôle de la Porcelaine et du Château-Musée Charles VII
Museum open from March 22 to November 02
MARCH, APRIL, OCTOBER
Saturday and Sunday, 2:30 pm to 6 pm
MAY, JUNE, SEPTEMBER
Daily except Mondays, 2:30 pm to 6 pm
JULY, AUGUST
Daily 10:30 am to 12:30 pm and 2:30 pm to 6:30 pm
Open every day except Mondays from 2:30 to 6:00 pm – Open every public holiday during the season.
- Access and transport
Access by bike, car, train (SNCF station) and bus (bus line n°185 – Bourges < Vierzon).
Parking at Place du Général Leclerc at the foot of the château.
Bike shelters near the Pôle de la Porcelaine and the Château Musée Charles VII.A 71 exit 6 (Vierzon), exit 7 (Bourges), then D2076 – 18km from Bourges – 16 km from Vierzon – GPS: 47.14 – 2.21
- Catering
Cafeteria at the Pôle de la Porcelaine.
Click here for a list of restaurants in the city.
- Means of payment
Cheque, cash, credit card.
- Host languages
Visitors welcome in French and English.
- Free admission and reduced rates (on presentation of proof of entitlement)
Free admission for jobseekers, children under 10 and people with disabilities.
Reduced rates for holders of Pass Privilège Route Jacques Cœur.
(click here to buy your Pass and benefit from reduced rates)
- PMR accessibility
PRM access to the Pôle de la Porcelaine (elevator).
One PRM parking space in front of the Pôle de la Porcelaine.
- Contact us
Agenda
Photo gallery
Mehun-sur-Yèvre, Château Charles VII and Joan of Arc statue｜VMSY
Mehun-sur-Yèvre, Staircase Château Charles VII｜VMSY
Mehun-sur-Yèvre, Canal de Berry｜VMSY
Mehun-sur-Yèvre, Joan of Arc statue｜VMSY
City of Mehun-sur-Yèvre｜Route Jacques Cœur
City of Mehun-sur-Yèvre｜Route Jacques CœurFind out more about the location
Twelve castles in Mehun-sur-Yèvre's history
The first document to mention the castle is a charter dating back to 820 A.D., which specifies the name Magdunum. The site was altered a dozen times between the 9th and 14th centuries. The only evidence of the earliest period are the post holes visible in the cellars, which were used to support the first wooden constructions.
City of Mehun-sur-Yèvre｜Route Jacques CœurMehun-sur-Yèvre, summer residence of Duke Jean de Berry
It was thus on the foundations of a defensive château that Jean de Berry had one of the most beautiful residences in the world built, as the great 14th-century chronicler Froissart liked to say! Duke Jean de Berry was a great prince, and as he liked to repeat himself, he was the son, brother and uncle of a king! This great patron of the arts and lover of the arts was in fact the son of King Jean II le Bon, brother of Charles V and uncle of Charles VI. He owned 17 châteaux throughout the kingdom of France, and spent almost 30 years building Mehun into an exceptional pleasure residence at the crossroads of Flamboyant and International Gothic! Just imagine the additional 20m of stone superstructure above the keep.
The duke died in 1416 at the age of 76, without a male heir, and his estate passed to Charles de Valois, the future Charles VII, who fled Paris, which had fallen into the hands of his Burgundian enemies allied with the English. He arrived at the château in 1422 and breathed his last in 1461! He resided in Mehun and conducted his politics from Bourges, a little like Versailles and Paris a few centuries later. Many famous people came to Mehun: Jacques Cœur, the king’s great traveler and treasurer, Joan of Arc, who received her letters of nobility on December 29, 1429, and La belle Agnès, (Sorel!) mistress of King Charles VII.
From the death of Charles VII to the French Revolution and beyond
After the death of Charles VII, Berry fell into disuse, with his son Louis XI preferring the banks of the Loire. A garrison took up residence at the château. The first destructions occurred in the 16th century, when the “ fires of God ” – lightning – struck the metal superstructures that decorated the château’s chapel. The roofs and frameworks disappeared, and the château remained in this state until the French Revolution, when it was confiscated as national property and bought by a quarryman who dismantled it over a 22-yearperiod… In the 19th century, the spiral staircase was rebuilt and the museum opened in 1903.
Mehun-sur-Yèvre, Château Charles VII｜VMSY
City of Mehun-sur-Yèvre｜Route Jacques CœurThe Charles VII Castle-Museum of Mehun-sur-Yèvre, a historic town
A landmark in the history of France, the château dominates a setting of water and greenery… Transformed into stone laceworks built for Jean de Berry, King Charles VII‘s favorite sojourn, this site has welcomed Charles V, Joan of Arc, Jacques Coeur, Louis XI, Louis XII, Henri II… Mehun is a certain idea of the Renaissance before the Loire Valley.
Beneath the high, elegant vaults of the dungeon, where Joan of Arc was ennobled, the collections cover a wide range of themes relating to the Middle Ages: from the construction of the building to sculptures, from daily life to pomp and pageantry, from archaeology to the history of the most famous figures, with an emphasis on major works from the French Middle Ages. Guided tours take visitors from surprise to surprise, right up to the panoramic terrace.
Place du Général Leclerc 18500 Mehun-sur-Yèvre – 02 48 57 00 71
Pôle de la Porcelaine
Porcelain manufacturing in Europe began in the 18th century. Under the impetus of Charles Pillivuyt, production developed in Mehun-sur-Yèvre in the mid-19th century. Two centuries later, the Mehun company remains a leader in its sector: culinary and Michelin-starred tableware.
Through a modern and original scenography, the Pôle de la Porcelaine presents the most beautiful pieces of porcelain from Berry: unique pieces made byAlphonse Lamarre ‘s design workshop “la Spéciale“, true jewels of Art Nouveau; timeless and emblematic objects such as the “bar à pans” or “tasse bistrot” cup born in 1904, the mazagran, the lion’s head tureen…
Rue des Grands Moulins 18500 Mehun-sur-Yèvre – 02 48 57 06 19
Mehun-sur-Yèvre, Pôle de la Porcelaine｜VMSY
Mehun-sur-Yèvre, Musée Château Charles VII｜VMSYFind the town of Mehun-sur-Yèvre on its website and networks:
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