If you're looking to Escape to France, renting a château isn’t as expensive as you might think…
Fancy a taste of life chez Dick and Angel Strawbridge?
ED GRENBY - 19 March 2021
Restoring and living in a grand old French château would be such fun, wouldn’t it – if it weren’t for the “restoring” bit. True, the starry-eyed castle-lovers in the forthcoming series of Escape to the Château: DIY seem to find a certain satisfaction in doing all the hard work themselves. But if your DIY skills are more Dick and Dom than Dick and Angel, then don’t worry: you can still live like Louis XIV at any of the hundreds of châteaux across France that accept paying guests. Here’s how:
Château de Noirieux
DECIDE WHAT SUITS YOU
Do you want the smooth service and polished poise of a smart hotel, or the idiosyncratic charm and creaky floorboards of a family home? Plenty of imposing ancestral seats are now run by upmarket hospitality companies, often at surprisingly reasonable rates (check out Château de Noirieux, in Anjou, from £121 a night, where each room is perfumed with its own unique fragrance relaischateaux.com). But for a more personal experience, find a place that’s still its owners’ home. Even some of the most impressively monikered aristocrats have opened their houses: the Count and Countess de Vanssay, for instance, are excellent hosts at the Château de la Barre, on the Loire borders, and the Countess can get help you get into some of the area’s most exclusive events. From £300 a night chateaudelabarre.com.
CHOOSE YOUR LOCATION
The Loire Valley is the elegant epicentre of the country’s château life: 22 make it onto the prestigious Grands Sites du Val de Loire list. You can’t stay at any of those absolute A-listers – that would be a bit like demanding a room for the night at Windsor Castle – but the Loire is home to more than 300 châteaux, so there’s a billet to suit every taste and pocket. Want something splendid on the outside but fresh and modern on the inside, and for £120 a night, for instance? You’ll love Domaine de la Tortinière tortiniere.com. That said, you can find a château pretty much anywhere – even right off the ferry. The decorous Château de Chantore is just a short drive from Cherbourg or St Malo, for example, with damasked rooms and four-posters from £155 a night chateaudechantore.com.
BE MODEST…
There’s no point spending extra for a great big bedroom: you won’t spend much time in it, because the joy of château living lies in the grand salons, refined drawing rooms, rambling grounds and manicured lawns (many now have swimming pools, too) – not to mention the gorgeous slice of rural France you’ll find beyond those splendid ornamental wrought-iron gates. Forget your schooldays French, however. Don’t ask for a petite room, but a modeste one: that should get you something dainty but economical. The modeste rooms at chic, unstuffy Château les Oliviers de Salettes, near Nîmes, for instance, go from £85 a night chateau-lesoliviers.com. …
OR GO ALL OUT
Nothing says “lord of all you survey” like taking over a whole property – and it can work out an outrageous bargain, too. The economy-of-scale behind sharing a château with loads of friends or extended family can bring you a palatial room for £15 a night, not to mention the fun of a week-long stately-home house party. You can wade through the listings on airbnb.co.uk; alternatively, have a specialist do the legwork for you. Oliver’s Travels is an excellent British company with more than 100 handpicked French châteaux on its books (oliverstravels.com/rent-chateau-france) – from the mini medieval tower of Tour St Thérèse in Charente (sleeps six, from £686 a week) to the Loire’s majestic Château des Joyaux (sleeps 50, from £38,000 a week – that’s only £108 a night each if you fill it!). Maids, chefs and other staff can easily be arranged: chatelaines don’t do dishes, so why should you?
DON’T COMPROMISE
Just because it’s a château, that doesn’t mean it has to be dusty and fusty. You can find a manoir that’s all funky modernity on the inside (Château de la Resle, in Burgundy, for instance; chateaudelaresle.com), one with state-of-the-art spa ( in the Languedoc; serjac.com), or one that’s Michelin-starred (Château de Mercuès, in the Lot; chateaudemercues.com). And you won’t have to hammer a single nail at any of them…
ED GRENBY
Series six of Escape to the Château: DIY is coming to C4 next month. Many previous editions can be seen on All 4
Restoring and living in a grand old French château would be such fun, wouldn’t it – if it weren’t for the “restoring” bit. True, the starry-eyed castle-lovers in the forthcoming series of Escape to the Château: DIY seem to find a certain satisfaction in doing all the hard work themselves. But if your DIY skills are more Dick and Dom than Dick and Angel, then don’t worry: you can still live like Louis XIV at any of the hundreds of châteaux across France that accept paying guests. Here’s how:
Château de Noirieux
DECIDE WHAT SUITS YOU
Do you want the smooth service and polished poise of a smart hotel, or the idiosyncratic charm and creaky floorboards of a family home? Plenty of imposing ancestral seats are now run by upmarket hospitality companies, often at surprisingly reasonable rates (check out Château de Noirieux, in Anjou, from £121 a night, where each room is perfumed with its own unique fragrance relaischateaux.com). But for a more personal experience, find a place that’s still its owners’ home. Even some of the most impressively monikered aristocrats have opened their houses: the Count and Countess de Vanssay, for instance, are excellent hosts at the Château de la Barre, on the Loire borders, and the Countess can get help you get into some of the area’s most exclusive events. From £300 a night chateaudelabarre.com.
CHOOSE YOUR LOCATION
The Loire Valley is the elegant epicentre of the country’s château life: 22 make it onto the prestigious Grands Sites du Val de Loire list. You can’t stay at any of those absolute A-listers – that would be a bit like demanding a room for the night at Windsor Castle – but the Loire is home to more than 300 châteaux, so there’s a billet to suit every taste and pocket. Want something splendid on the outside but fresh and modern on the inside, and for £120 a night, for instance? You’ll love Domaine de la Tortinière tortiniere.com. That said, you can find a château pretty much anywhere – even right off the ferry. The decorous Château de Chantore is just a short drive from Cherbourg or St Malo, for example, with damasked rooms and four-posters from £155 a night chateaudechantore.com.
BE MODEST…
There’s no point spending extra for a great big bedroom: you won’t spend much time in it, because the joy of château living lies in the grand salons, refined drawing rooms, rambling grounds and manicured lawns (many now have swimming pools, too) – not to mention the gorgeous slice of rural France you’ll find beyond those splendid ornamental wrought-iron gates. Forget your schooldays French, however. Don’t ask for a petite room, but a modeste one: that should get you something dainty but economical. The modeste rooms at chic, unstuffy Château les Oliviers de Salettes, near Nîmes, for instance, go from £85 a night chateau-lesoliviers.com. …
OR GO ALL OUT
Nothing says “lord of all you survey” like taking over a whole property – and it can work out an outrageous bargain, too. The economy-of-scale behind sharing a château with loads of friends or extended family can bring you a palatial room for £15 a night, not to mention the fun of a week-long stately-home house party. You can wade through the listings on airbnb.co.uk; alternatively, have a specialist do the legwork for you. Oliver’s Travels is an excellent British company with more than 100 handpicked French châteaux on its books (oliverstravels.com/rent-chateau-france) – from the mini medieval tower of Tour St Thérèse in Charente (sleeps six, from £686 a week) to the Loire’s majestic Château des Joyaux (sleeps 50, from £38,000 a week – that’s only £108 a night each if you fill it!). Maids, chefs and other staff can easily be arranged: chatelaines don’t do dishes, so why should you?
DON’T COMPROMISE
Just because it’s a château, that doesn’t mean it has to be dusty and fusty. You can find a manoir that’s all funky modernity on the inside (Château de la Resle, in Burgundy, for instance; chateaudelaresle.com), one with state-of-the-art spa ( in the Languedoc; serjac.com), or one that’s Michelin-starred (Château de Mercuès, in the Lot; chateaudemercues.com). And you won’t have to hammer a single nail at any of them…
ED GRENBY
Series six of Escape to the Château: DIY is coming to C4 next month. Many previous editions can be seen on All 4