A Royal hostelry - staging post
From its origin in the 16th century, the Domain was a Royal hostelry – staging post – where Francis the First and his second wife Eleanor of Austria, Catherine de Medici and the future king Henri IV as well as Louis XIII accompanied of Cardinal Richelieu had a sleeping accomodation. In 1564, Kingi Charles IX spent a night in his carriage parked in the courtyard.
According to the column, Michel de Nostredame, better known under his latin name Nostradamus, stayed a few days in the inn. During centuries, the Domain knew various destinations and was a vineyard before being lovingly restored in its authenticity.

The Roman era: the “Pont du Gard” aqueduct
Supplied by its Vauclusian source, Nîmes became one of the most important towns of the Province. It was governed by Caesar and then by Augustus who, probably thanks to his old friend’s advice Agrippa, Governor of the Gaules – his man of “big operations”, embellished the town. The Emperor entrusted him with the construction of the aqueduct to supply the town with water and beyond, afterwards, the famous tunnels of Sernhac; Curious visitors might wonder why the tunnels have been dug inside those cliffs when it would have been easier to follow them outside.
In the middle of the big walled garden of the Domaine des Escaunes, the Roman tunnels are still there, relics of the “Pont du Gard” aqueduct which brought water to Nîmes more than 20 centuries ago.