Situated in a
sixteen hectare park, this lovely 18th century château estate is 3 km from the
village of Bar-sur-Seine, 20 kms from the town of Troyes and two hours from
Paris. The young river Seine flows through the gardens for more than a kilometre
and in the grounds are stables and garages, a guest cottage, a chapel and a 13th
century pigeonnier.
Bar-sur-Seine has all essential shops and there is a greater selection of shops,
including supermarkets, restaurants and general facilities in Troyes. Troyes is
a quiet town tucked in a loop of the Seine, which still has an unspoilt central
area of delightful narrow cobbled streets lined with medieval timbered houses.
Look for Barbery, a soft round cheese cured in wood ashes from the village of
the same name nearby.
Southern Champagne is an area of peaceful open plains and woods, rivers and
lakes, whilst the vineyards are further to the west and north in the Marne
valley and on the slopes of the plains around Reims.
Well furnished and decorated, the château has a main sitting room and a billiard
room, a family living room and a fully equipped kitchen, which includes an oven
and hob, a microwave, a dishwasher and washing machine and two fridges. There is
also a music centre, two televisions and a telephone.
There are eight bedrooms with five double beds and five single beds in all, and
three bathrooms. The cottage has two extra double bedrooms, a kitchen and a
bathroom for guests.
The grounds
outside are beautiful and very well maintained. 1,5 km of riverside: perfect to
swim, to sail and to fish. A Large lake is only a few km away offering many
water sports: sailing, water-skiing, sailing board, Tennis, Horse-riding.
Activities: There is a good golf course at Cordelière, the old Moet et
Chandon château and within 20 km are several lakes with water sport facilities,
including water skiing and wind surfing (there is a windsurfer at the château)
and fishing, which also have beaches and swimming areas.
There are a choice of restaurants to choose from, ranging from small country
ones to gastronomic, including a Michelin star restaurant 4 km away. Most of the
villages have markets on different days of the week.
There are organised tours around most of the great champagne houses in Epernay
or Reims. The cellars of Champagne Pommery, made out of ancient Gallo-Roman
chalk mines and decorated with art nouveau bas-reliefs and Emile Gallé
sculptures, are one of the most attractive. But it is more fun perhaps to visit
a small independent vineyard along one of the three champagne routes, which are
very well sign-posted, or in Ay just outside Epernay, to have a more personal
tour of the cellars and tasting.
