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Direct booking, independent holiday breaks throughout France, in privately owned self catering country houses, cottages, gites and apartments, villas and traditional farmhouses, or in a choice of delightful Bed and Breakfast Chambres d'Hôtes. | |
Holiday Homes In France 1998-2008 |
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Classical Napoleon I Chateau in South West France
Near Marmande, 40 minutes from Bordeaux
5 bedrooms, sleeps 10 people. With pool.
Chateau le Breuil
The great architect Louis, who also designed and built most of Bordeaux at the time, rebuilt the château in 1790 for Napoleon's composer and 1st violinist, Rode. He also designed the beautiful Grand Théatre in Bordeaux and the famous staircase at the Opéra de Paris. There are many similarities between Le Breuil and Château Margaux, another of Louis houses, notably about the entrance and the cornices.
Rode's lover at the time was a very beautiful soprano known as La Grassini, who was also Napoleon's mistress. Later she went to England and became Wellington's lover. History does not record whether she entertained both men at Le Breuil at the same time. Le Breuil is 5 kms 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. Bordeaux is 40 minutes from here, the airport in Bergerac in the Dordogne, is 50 minutes. Comfortably furnished throughout and very much a family home, being here feels as though you are walking back in time. Much of the interior is quite original and still has the Regency style décor and lovely old patterned tiled floors.
The main entrance 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, and a dining room with a large table seating twelve people. Wi-Fi Internet connection is available. There is also a double bedroom with private bathroom on the ground floor. Upstairs are four further bedrooms, the master bedroom and bathroom, a second double room with a four-poster bed and two twin rooms. There is one bathroom with wc, a separate shower room with wc and another separate wc. 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. A caretaker lives in a separate apartment and will cook and babysit on request.
The Area
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 (15 kms), 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. 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. 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 Information
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Prices and booking information
All prices are per week Saturday to Saturday arriving at 4pm departing at 10am 2 week bookings: 20% reduction on the 2nd week Linen and towels provided (please bring your own pool towels) We will be happy to cook dinner on request A deposit of 30% is requested on booking with the remainder paid 6 weeks before arrival, together with a returnable damage deposit of €700
Mobile: 06 08 71 35 94 (International + 33 6 08 71 35 94) Fax: 05 53 64 54 85 ( International + 33 5 53 64 54 85) Please mention Vacation France when contacting the owner
For more information please visit the Owner's Website
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