This morning, as I read online news of children beating each other up in school hallways and about the trash-lined drug-market streets of San Francisco and our other once great cities, I took a deep breath and escaped to my bookshelves for relief, looking for “splendid things”, as Freddie Mercury was want to say. I craved beauty. I craved escape.
And then I remembered that I am keeping a bucket list on my computer of places I want to go and experiences I want to have. Encouraged, I re-opened my laptop.
Top of the list, and of course about food and France, was an itinerary of travel throughout France to visit privately owned chateaux that were known for cuisine and charm. And tranquility. And beauty.
From the Loire to the Alps to Provence, privately owned French chateaux welcome guests to learn their story, walk their vineyards, peep into their kitchens, stay in their turrets on downy-plump four-poster beds, and dine on cuisine prepared from ingredients from their gardens (potagers).
They have a long heritage. When Catherine de Medici brought her entourage of cooks with her from Italy when she married the King, she encouraged the ladies of the court to engage in sumptuous dining and entertaining in their own homes. The cooking that developed in French chateaux was the genesis of classic French cuisine, which after the Revolution moved outside of chateau walls to the public restaurants that were opened in a new wave of democracy.
So today, when one chateau may have been bought by former lawyers from London who dreamed of running a B&B with their young family, another may have been in the family for centuries—-yet all of them strive to present and share the history of their home and its own unique cuisine from the region it is located in. Sounds good to me!
With that in mind, here are some that are on my list that you may want to add to your list.
Also, as a real estate agent in the Hamptons, I have been sending out to my clients interesting opportunities to buy homes in France that are significantly less expensive than buying a second home here in the States, and the taxes are much lower. I have owned homes in France and the process is relatively easy. And property managers are also affordable to collect rent and monitor a house if you don’t occupy it all year round.
Some of the houses I have sent out to my clients are small chateaux.
So after I share the following that are on my list to visit and dine in, I will give you a taste of chateaux that are available, and affordable, to buy in France.
To visit:
1.
Chateau des Comtes de Challes, 73190 Challes Les Eaux
As of today, Booking.com has it listed as $161 for a room. Wow.
How would you like to stay in a 15th century castle in a spa town in the Savoie region of France near the Alps, a rustic chateau, not a gilded one, that exudes old France?
It has a gastronomic restaurant and an excellent wine cellar with Savoie wines.
Current menu, some choices: Foie Gras of Duck with Amaretto Figs Stewed Figs Roasted with Almond Cream and Tangy Caramel; Duet of Bass and Risotto with Wild Garlic and Lime, Tangy Juice of Veal; Apple Crisp, Cider Caramel and Rosemary Sorbet.
I am feeling happier already. My mind is off the news and onto better things! Splendid things….
2
Chateau des Briottieres, Champigne, in the Loire, a great base to visit the exquisite chateaux of the Loire….
….as of today, the price of a room is $239 a night.
This one puts you in the heart of the Loire within striking distance of magnificent museum-chateaux…..
10-15 antique filled atmospheric bedrooms…
…candle-lit dinners, 3-course fixed prix 50 euros
…. a breakfast buffet….20 euros….
3.
Chateau de Pray, in the Loire
as of today, the price of a room is $187.
19 rooms…..
…with a Michelin star restaurant..
These are but a few of the hundreds of private chateaux you can stay in and dine well in France. I have tons more on my list so let me know if you would like to see more!
While I am in a “chateaux” mood, I am going to share with you some “chateaux” for sale in France.
This one is in Charras, France, in the Dordogne, and it is for an apartment on the ground floor in the chateau that offers a living room, kitchen, bathroom and bedroom, making it a great pied-a-terre for a base to travel from. The Dordogne is one of the most popular places to live for British expats so lots of company to share there.
or…..
This one, above, is for Euros 695,000…..13th century, 8 bedrooms with a large barn, in the Aquitaine region of France.
or this one for $758,000 in Correze…in the Aquitaine region of France…15th century…10 bedrooms…6 acres…
There are so many!!! The last two are in the Aquitaine region, where the majority of British expats live so there’s plenty of English speaking company. Facebook groups in each region of France exist for local English-speaking expats to get to know one another and share experiences and information.
In fact, most of France is pretty easy to get around speaking very little French, and when you go to buy a house, you hire an English speaking lawyer that knows US tax code and laws and currency and they do it all for you.
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed escaping with me today for some dreamy dreaming. I am going to be posting at some point recipes from some of the chateaux that you can visit….because they specialize in local cuisine and it could be fun to try some of their dishes at home.
In the meantime, dear friends, thank you for following me and I will see you next week.
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Some of my cookbooks, two more in the oven…….
The lure of French chateaux is powerful. I stayed at one last summer, and hope to stay at others in the future. Thanks for the suggestions!