Description
The great architect Louis, who also designed and built most of Bordeaux at the
time, built the château in 1836 for the widow of the composer and violinist
Rode. He also designed the beautiful Grand Theatre in Bordeaux and the famous
staircase at the Opera de Paris. There are many similarities between this
chateau and Château Margaux, another of Louis houses, notably about the entrance
and the cornices.
The chateau is 5 km from the market town of Marmande, within reach of the Buzet
and St Emilion vineyards and set in seven hectares of park and garden, entered
through beautiful wrought iron gates.
Comfortably furnished throughout and very much a family home, it feels as though
you are walking back in time. Much of the interior is quite original and still
has some the Regency style décor and lovely old patterned tiled floors.
Accommodation
The front door opens into a colonnaded hall with an elegant staircase winding up
to the second floor. There is a large living room with a fireplace, a smaller
living room with television and video, a kitchen equipped with dishwasher and
washing machine, an oven and hob, refrigerator and various appliances, a second
kitchen and a dining room with a large table seating twelve people. There are
also two double bedrooms with private bathrooms on the ground floor.
Upstairs are three further bedrooms, one double and two twin rooms. One has an
en-suite bathroom with shower and there are two other small shower rooms with
WCs. There is also a large sunny bathroom with bath.
In the park behind the house is a terraced swimming pool (12 x 7 metres) and the
grounds are full of a variety of beautiful old trees and places where children
can play freely. There are also terraces with garden furniture and tables for
outside eating.
Activities
Marmande has all essential shops and facilities including several cafes and
restaurants, banks and a market on Monday mornings, where you can find fresh
local fruit and vegetables, goat's cheese and honey made on nearby farms,
flowers and Marmandaise and Buzet wines.
There is a good choice of restaurants within a reasonable distance from here, in
particular, the l'Escale restaurant in Pont-des-Sables about 10 minutes from
away and the Ferme Auberge in Tonneins.
Worth a stop in the village of Puymician just outside Marmande is a pottery,
which specialises in wonderfully baroque terracotta garden urns.
The Garonne river is close by and there are cruises and a boat base where you
can hire canoes and lots of fishing spots. At Buzet-sur-Baïse, boats can be
hired for a day on the river there. There are also two golf courses and a local
flying club with gliders.
Near Casteljaloux (15kms), is the beginning of the great pine forest of the
Landes, a thousand hectares to ride or walk in, which stretches to the beautiful
sandy beaches along the Atlantic coast.
St. Emilion wines have been famous for centuries and the town itself is full of
interest. It lies perched on a hilltop about thirty minutes from the château and
although the medieval walls are now partly concealed by houses, a walk or drive
around the outside gives a good idea of what it must have been like in medieval
times. It is still a pleasure to walk around the narrow cobbled streets and peer
into the craft shops, stop at the wine museum or to see the vast underground
wine cellars. Visits to some of the vineyards can be arranged from there.
Travel
Airport Bordeaux - 50 minutes - (low cost flights from London and Stanstead)
Road Paris - 7 hours
