Visit Chateau de Valcreuse in France

Want to travel the countryside of France and stay in a chateau? We have the place! Take a visit to Chateau de Valcreuse in La Roche Posay, France!

Our recent trip throughout France began in the fertile countryside, south of Paris. By way of a train ride to La Roche Posay, we stayed in the beautiful Chateau de Valcreuse for an amazing week filled with history, friendship, and a culinary experience. When we arrived, we were greeted with champagne and a full tour of the amazing property, by our wonderful host Laura.

Chateau de Valcreuse

Chateau de Valcreuse is described in French literature as one of the most romantic castles in France. What a beautiful town and property, set in the Loire Valley at the edge of the village of La Roche-Posay along the Creuse River. We love traveling in Europe, where earlier this year we went on a 10-day Viking Cruise from Athens to Venice, ending up in Venice for 3 days. One year ago we were in Dublin for 3 days.

You can read more about the history, and how it became a holiday home in 1987.

Bring your friends, family, or a wedding party, as it’s truly one of the most charming places we’ve ever stayed, with so much history and beauty.

The chateau borders the banks of the River Creuse and offers more than 6,000 square feet of living space with nearly seven acres of land, a heated swimming pool with a fun pool bar.

The property has a variety of trees enclosed by stone walls which offer complete privacy. Every morning we picked our own fresh peaches, apples, plums, pears, apricots, and figs. We found the swing in the 100 year old birch tree so enchanting! Also, the walnut grove has more than 15 varieties and there is a truffle oak garden.

This stunning 19th century chateau has been restored to its former glory and is in immaculate condition. We loved the features like the original hardwood floors, marble fireplaces and impressive ceiling ornaments that were preserved into a comfortable, modern, contemporary interior design. Every morning we’d open the original large windows to watch the sunrise and have our espresso.

The chateau has 9 double-bedrooms and 1 twin room over two beautifully designed buildings, for up to twenty guests. 

And did I mention the majestic staircase when you walk into the front doors?

To the left is the kitchen, completely remodeled into a modern French kitchen, where we cooked many meals during our stay. 

We cooked many meals, counting breakfast every morning, a few lunches, and grilled kebabs and salmon 2 of the nights. One of the nights we had a Chef come in and cook for us, and the other nights, we walking into town (a 5-10 minutes stroll) to enjoy the La Roche Posay fine dining. Below are our restaurant recommendations.

The wine cellar was one of the most stunning we’ve seen.

The pool – refreshing with such a beautiful setting.

We took advantage of the grill out by the pool, and cooked a wonderful kebab dinner by candlelight, the moon, and the pool light. What a memory!

If you’ve dreamed of living in a French chateau, this dreamy property is perfect for holiday rentals, weddings, wellness, celebrations, and more.

How do you get to the chateau?

We arrived in Paris, from a direct flight from Seattle. At the Montparnasse, we walked to Cafe Jeannette for lunch. We highly recommend not staying in the train station if you have time to walk just outside the doors to this darling French cafe. Did I mention that we had the best coffee martini that we’ve ever had?

We took the direct train to Chatellerault.

We rented a car just outside La Roche Posay, in Chatellerault, then drove to see Laura, our host, who greeted us with a gorgeous charcuterie and some sparkly, as we toured the home and property. 

Here is a map so you can visualize the area, and surrounding towns.

What to do in La Roche Posay

The chateau is close to world-renowned La-Roche Posay thermal spas, a golf course, casino, and within walking distance of numerous restaurants and bars.

Thousands of people come each year for the healing properties of the waters in the thermal spa. We got a 2-hour pass to enjoy the spa and experience the water. It was quite lovely.

Our guys did long bike rides into the countryside and also played golf.

We enjoyed twice weekly markets in the town square. We walked to the markets to shop for several dinners that we prepared ourselves in the amazing kitchen. What an experience to open the windows, lay out all of the produce, and start cooking in this dream kitchen.

There are also hiking trails and tours of some amazing castles, with many historical monuments.

We drove into Tours (one hour away) for the day to shop, eat, and visit the larger city. Tours is a university town known for cathedrals, historic chateaus, and bridges crossing over the river Loire. We had a local seafood lunch at Brasserie Madeleine that was fantastic.

One morning we all drove to Abbey Notre-Dame De Fontgombault to participate in the gregorian chant, a one-hour service filled with some of the most beautiful music we’ve ever heard. The monks live right on the property. When you go, bring some Kleenex. It’s that beautiful.

We drove to Angles-sur-l’Anglin and shopped, walked around the historic sites, and had a delicious pizza lunch at L’Amaretto.

Packed with Amenities – this chateau offers:

• Outdoor heated swimming pool with pool house including equipped pool house bar
• Indoor bar
• Table tennis
• Pool table – brand new!
• Petanque
• Fruit orchard with vineyards
• Barbeque
• Outdoor dining
• Snooker table
• Wine tasting
• River walks & fishing
• Newly built local cycling trails through the French countryside
• Lodging for up to 20 guests

Dining in La Roche Posay

There are a number of divine restaurants and bars just steps away from the château. A walk into town is less than five minutes to enjoy five-star cuisine restaurants.

• Au Clos Paille – a 12 minute stroll to dinner.
• Auberge De La Roche – another stroll to dinner from the chateau.

• Brasserie Le Duguesclin – the best salads for lunch right in La Roche Posay.
• Local brasseries and boulangeries.
• Local Farmers Market (2 days a week, more in the summertime).

Other Wonderful Offerings

The hosts of the chateau can arrange in-house breakfasts & dinners cooked by a local chef, and can also do any shopping, so upon arrival you can enjoy your vacation the minute you arrive.

Laura provided a beautiful charcuterie with house wine when we arrived at 8 pm. It was truly lovely.

She also shopped for our breakfasts, provided enough espresso for the week so we never ran out of the amazing French coffee. She brought us fresh-pressed apple juice and farm eggs every morning. We were able to purchase wine and spirits right there in the chateau, but she also suggested great places for wine tasting.

We had a French dinner cooked for us (very top picture),  with Coq Au Vin and the chateau’s house wine. It was fantastic and we enjoyed this full-course meal in the dining room. 

Laura also arranged for us were extra bikes for rent (this also includes electric bikes), taxi services and restaurant reservations, and she can schedule treatments or any reservation at the thermal spa, along with golf times.

What a blessed week we had in the beautiful French countryside. The chateau was far more than we could have ever dreamed of for a vacation with our friends. We kept thinking of all the people in our lives who should experience what we experienced. Oh, and the sunsets? Also out of this world breathtaking and just as breathtaking as the sunrises.

We still miss walking out to the pool and saying, “Alexa, turn on Van Morrison,” or while we were all cooking together in the fabulous kitchen, “Alexa, turn on French cooking music.”

How can you stay at this amazing chateau?

The Chateau is now offering B&B bookings from October through to April, subject to availability. The château estate and gardens are also a beautiful wedding venue setting.

Right now they are offering 20% DISCOUNT ON 2023 BOOKINGS!

After our week in La Roche Posay, our journey took us to three days in Bordeaux, and then a train ride to Normandy for another three days. From there we took the train back to Paris where we spent four more sunny days before returning back to Oregon. The last time we were in Paris was in the fall of  2019, on a Viking River Cruise. We’ll be writing about the rest of our trip to Bourdeax and Normandy in our next travel post coming up.

Quelle benediction!

Our week at the chateau was gratuitous; we were not paid or hired to write this post. All opinions are our own.