Also called Château Peychotte, the Maison Carrée d'Arlac is a magnificent neoclassical style folly located in the heart of the town of Mérignac, in the Gironde. Built for Samuel Charles Peixotto, a Portuguese-born banker, in the second half of the 18th century, it now enjoys a classification as an historic monument.
The square house of Arlac is revealed in the form of a Palladian-style building with a rotunda lounge covered with a painted dome. Upstairs, visitors can discover a circular gallery as well as elegantly decorated rooms.
Dominating a landscaped park, the building, owned by the town of Mérignac, has benefited from a major restoration campaign. The one who inspired the castle of Rastignac, in Dordogne, and the White House in Washington, also seduces with its southern facade adorned with a semicircular Corinthian colonnade which dominates a staircase with convex steps.
