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Bucket list help - traditional French chateau stay that's accessible by train or bus

Posted by (Australia) on

I looked for previous forum posts about chateaux stays but most seem a bit old or are based on having a car.

We (couple, 60 and 74) have decided that rather than just look at chateaux during our upcoming trip to France we want to stay in one. We have two nights available and I am hoping to find a chateau stay somewhere along our route of Avignon-Toulouse-Bordeaux-Tours-Paris. We will be travelling in October.

We are looking for:

  1. Accessible by public transport - train or bus, plus taxi is fine - this is non-negotiable as for health reasons we can't rent a car.
  2. A chateau that has a restaurant (or there are restaurants close by)
  3. A chateau that has water - moat, river view, pond, large fountain - in my mind it's not a chateau unless it has a "water feature"
  4. Budget: chateaux mid range - 4 stars? My max budget for our chateau experience is €1000-.

I am also interested in the views of chateau regulars about whether one night is enough or whether a two night stay gives a better chateau experience. We would be happy to visit a nearby village or just laze around for a day if the chateau has things to do.

Posted by
7300 posts

Château de Bourron-Marlotte, near Fontainebleau, fits your requirements. 1 hour from Paris by commuter train, on-site restaurant (+ another one in the village), possibility to visit Fontainebleau and Moret-sur-Loing with the train or taxis (available in Fontainebleau).- making a 2-night stay worthwhile.
I have never been, but I have "flagged" it for a long time as a possible short getaway from Paris for myself.

Posted by
1072 posts

Château de Bourron-Marlotte

... is unfortunately fully booked for our immediately pre-Paris dates.

But it looks wonderful.

Posted by
1072 posts

The Relais et Chateaux website could give you ideas and addresses

Thank you. This is exactly what I need to narrow down my choices. I can even filter by my water criteria!

Posted by
10186 posts

An ability to filter by water criteria ?!! I am checking this out too ! Thanks JoLui!

Posted by
8550 posts

When you find chateaux options be sure to look carefully at pictures of the grounds and the rooms. We were so disappointed years ago with a chateau that we thought was somewhat rural but turned out to be in the city by a freeway and had rooms that were sort of motel 6 -- even the public rooms like the breakfast room were cheap/modern when we were expecting a bit of medieval. from a certain camera angle the chateau looked good -- but that was it.

Posted by
88 posts

We just stayed at Chateau de Bourron a few days ago and yes it does have a moat all the way around it. We did have a car but the owners will pick you up at the local train station if you tell them in advance. The chateau is lovely and we enjoyed our 2 night stay. It is pricey but for a couple of nights was well worth it and I think will come under 1000 euros for two nights. I don't know if the price changes during the year. Be warned, there is no air conditioning or television if you feel you may need/want those. I thought the breakfast was overpriced for what it was but there are always boulangeries, etc everywhere in France to try out for breakfast! There is a restaurant in the old carriage houses/stables of the chateau that serves dinner but we did not eat there. (I think it was closed the nights we were in town.) We ate at Le Bistrot du Broc both nights we were there. Le Bistrot du Broc had been recommended by the owners of Chateau de Bourron and the food and wine were delicious!

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