Castle Tours (37)

A 16th & 18th century chateau-hotel and its outbuildings in 24 ha of parklands between the Loire and Cher rivers in the Touraine region.
2½ hours from Paris, 25 minutes from slip roads for the A10 motorway. 2 km from a train station with 80-minute links to Paris. 40 minutes from an airport with regular, direct flights to Marseille, London, Dublin, Marrakech and Porto. 3 km from schools, amenities and shops. In the midst of the Loire chateaux, an area classified as a World Heritage site by Unesco for its exceptional cultural landscape as regards its architectural monuments, its villages and the Loire, itself. Built on the edge of the bocage plains, between the royal forest and the old medieval fortress.
In flat, then undulating, parklands spanning 24 hectares, predominantly composed of woods, a perfectly straight, driveway, some 600 m long and bordered by oak trees over a hundred years old, leads to the old gatehouse, topped with a tower. Reached via a bridge, once a drawbridge, this gatehouse or old caretaker’s lodge, opens into the main courtyard. The chateau stands facing the gatehouse. The courtyard, enhanced with a fountain and four ancient plane trees, looks out over the side moats and features leisure areas. Another two bridges span the moats on either side of the chateau, one leading to a carpark and the other to a swimming pool. Dry moats are on but three sides, the lie of the land to the rear of the chateau resulting in its opening directly on to the parklands and the tennis court. The old, nearby outbuildings comprise three fully rehabilitated buildings which house two large holiday rental accommodation units. The swimming pool and its terrace are within easy reach of all the buildings, the chateau and the holiday rental accommodation units. In the parklands, near to a fish-filled lake spanning a little over a hectare, a long, traditional farmhouse featuring typical regional architecture awaits restoration works. It has a well.
The chateauDating from the Renaissance period, this chateau apparently belonged to the Briçonnets, a family of builders responsible for Chenonceau chateau, as well as to the Réaux family and that of the first mayor of Tours. It comprises two rectangular buildings, standing perpendicular to one another. The main, south-west facing facade opens on to the courtyard side. The transomed or mullioned windows are perfectly aligned both vertically and horizontally. A few bull’s eye windows as well as a sundial provide a touch of fantasy. Above the door, tracery composed of initials no doubt reveals the building’s construction date. The slate roofs have stone roof dormers with triangular pediments, adorned with decorative floral features. Restored over the centuries, the layout of the rooms has been somewhat modified to adapt it for a hotel and catering activity. The floors can be reached via a central stairway reserved for guests and via a back stairway going up from the kitchens. Each of the five main levels spans approx. 280 m² of living space. The reception rooms were recently redone together with 11 of the 17 bedrooms housed in the chateau.
Cellar
Laid out on the second basement level, these cellars can be reached from the outside.
Basement
This level comprises immaculately kept utility rooms including a staff dining room, cloakrooms, bathroom and toilet facilities, storage areas, storerooms, a cake and pastry-making area, linen rooms, miscellaneous storage rooms, cold rooms, a delivery bay, dumb waiters, a boiler room and other machine rooms.
Ground floor
A vestibule provides access on one side to a lounge, an office and toilets; on the other are two adjoining restaurants, followed by a pantry and the kitchens. The later were completely redone and have practically never been used as the current owner did not wish to continue the restaurant …