Built at the beginning of the 17th century by the Counts of Anglure, the Château d'Étoges was a staging post for French monarchs whilst on progress to their eastern dominions. Following the French Revolution, Etoges passed into the hands of the wife of Marshal Lannes who played hostess to the Court of the Emperor Napoleon.
Today, the family that has owned Etoges for over a century is delighted to continue the Chateau’s tradition of offering a royal welcome to honoured guests.
La Hougue Bie is a Neolithic ritual site which was in use around 3500 BC. Hougue is a Jèrriais/Norman language word meaning a \'mound\' and comes from the Old Norse word haugr. The site consists of 18.6m long passage chamber covered by a 12.2m high mound. The site was first excavated in 1925 by the Société Jersiaise. Fragments of twenty vase supports were found along with the scattered remains of at least eight individuals. Gravegoods, mostly pottery, were also present. At some time in the past, the site had evidently been entered and ransacked.
In Western Europe, it is one of the largest and best preserved passage graves and the most impressive and best preserved monument of Armorican Passage Grave group. Although they are termed \'passage graves\', they were ceremonial sites, whose function was more similar to churches or cathedrals, where burials were incidental.