The fortified hilltop château of Hattonchâtel, 45 km south-east of Verdun, was the medieval seat of the bishops of Verdun. Most of it was destroyed in the First World War; the present building is a meticulous reconstruction in the style of the original, funded by the Connecticut-based silk heiress Belle Skinner after her postwar visit to the Meuse.
Inside, an 18th-century library, the small village church (with a late-medieval altarpiece by Ligier Richier), and a panoramic view across the Woëvre plain to the Meuse make this one of the most rewarding country visits in Lorraine. The château is privately owned but partly open to the public, and operates as a small hotel and restaurant.