Châteaux, Decorative Arts & Design Tour
(7 nights)
Date: 16 - 23 May 2025
Vue d'Ensemble: This tour travels through the Ariège region of France and invites you to discover the rich tapestry of its history, from medieval villages to grand châteaux, where centuries of tradition and craftsmanship continue to shape culture. Explore the age-old arts of French artisans, from handwoven textiles to intricate pottery, that preserve time-honored techniques passed down through generations. Amidst this heritage, we shall explore the beauty of the French countryside - from rolling vineyards to fields of flowers - offering an experience that harmonises history, craft and nature.
Inclusions: all dining (daily breakfast, lunch, dinner and drinks), all accommodation (3 nights at Château de Sibra, 1 night at Chateau des Duc de Joyeuse, 3 nights at Château de Gudanes), accommodation amenities (wifi and pool at all accomodation, tennis court at Doc de Joyeuse and Gudanes and self service laundry at Gudanes) activities as per the itinerary and more.
Please kindly note that the cost of the experience excludes your flights to and from France/ Toulouse, personal spending money and travel insurance.
Itinerary: view below
Price: €7,900 per person
itinerary
Friday 16th May
We look forward to welcoming and meeting you in the morning in a central location in Toulouse. Your stay shall begin with a tour of this rose coloured ancient city, visiting the famous Victor Hugo Market and Musée Augustin - the oldest fine art museum in France. Later, we will gather at the Château Bus to depart the city.
Along the way to our day’s destination we shall weave through the countryside’s winding roads to stop for a visit at textile artisans, Les Laines Paysan, masters in old world ways with a workshop set in nature. Using only free roaming, local wool these artisans spin and weave away on antique restored looms to create traditional fabric and textiles.
After this visit and a picnic lunch together our journey to Chateau de Sibra will continue, where you will spend your first 3 nights. Sibra is an enchanting château, an arcadian idyll, oscillating between the past and the future in the calm of a pastoral landscape. Set within 30 acres of a vast English-style park, bathed in romanticism, following your arrival we invite you to explore the grounds on horseback or if you prefer flaneuring on foot at your leisure. Afterward, aperitifs and dinner shall be served at Sibra…
Saturday 17th May
Breakfast shall be served at Sibra followed by a morning filled with discovering the old world ways of France by visiting local craftspeople - willow weavers, potters and savon artistes all set close to Sibra amongst the beauty of the Ariègiose countryside. Afterward, let’s enjoy a leisurely lunch and repose back at Sibra. Later in the afternoon we will experience a private visit to Château de Queille, a short drive from Sibra. Here we will enjoy an exclusive tour of the château and gardens before sitting down to a candlelit dinner in the medieval chapel, surrounded by fresco lined walls.
Sunday 18th May
Breakfast shall be served at Sibra followed by a visit to the medieval town of Mirepoix. In Mirepoix, we will experience a guided tour of the cathedral, which has the second widest nave of any cathedral in Europe, and some of the more prominent buildings of this authentic village that has remained largely (architecturally) unchanged since the 15th Century. Luckily, there is also a vide-grenier scheduled on this date and so you can wander around to discover vintage and antique treasurers at a leisurely pace. Afterward, there is the option to visit the L’eglise Rupestre de Vals, an extraordinary church built into giant rock formation.
Upon our return to Sibra, we shall déjeuner en plein air in the herb garden as we invite head gardener Gregor Meier to join us and share his knowledge of horticulture and more about the revival of the gardens at Sibra. Following lunch, Sybille, the owner and architect of Sibra, will present a beekeeping tour of the Château Bee House. For dinner you are invited to dine leisurely at Sibra at a long table beneath the perfumed and petalled rose colonnade.
Monday 19th May
After breakfast at Sibra we will pack up and take a short drive for a private visit of Château de Caudeval, currently under restoration. Then we shall set off for our longer journey to the wine region of Limoux where the vineyards of the Occitane are famous for being the first in France to produce sparkling wine, known as Blanquette de Limoux, in 1531. We shall unpack for the night at Château des Duc de Joyeuse, a 14th Century castle set in the valley of the Aude. During our stay we will visit local vineyards for luncheon and dinner to taste and explore the grapes of this region.
Tuesday 20th May
The next morning, following breakfast at the Duc de Joyeuse, we will make our way to Château de Gudanes, tarrying along the way to stop at a recently restored crystal factory. A French couple has revived this industry with a twist, reworking antique and vintage bottles to create stunning glassware with modernity. A picnic luncheon shall be served along our journey.
Afterward we continue our travels to Château de Gudanes, where the Château Team will be eagerly awaiting your arrival with local sparkling and sweet French treats. The entourage of the four legged kind - including Bruce Baptiste Gudanes the French Bull Dog chien de guarde and Claude Monet Cat Gudanes - shall also be waiting to greet you.
Having settled in, we will begin the stay with a historical tour of the interiors. Followed by château style aperitifs and a welcome BBQ dinner on the front terrace accompanied by the music and merriment of a local jazz band.
Wednesday 21st May
Following breakfast at Gudanes, we warmly invite you into the château cuisine for a series of sweet and savoury cooking classes, inspired by the original 18th Century château cookbook of Gudanes and traditional French dishes, to prepare and add to your own repertoire when you return home. International and local chefs will present, guide and teach techniques while adding a little bit of panache as they share the history of classic French cuisine. Your stay is in the middle of a delightful tomato, strawberry and asparagus season and the season of the king of the wilderness - Morel mushrooms - which can be foraged in the Château Parc.
After the classes we shall share a picnic lunch and then in the afternoon we will visit the artisan knifemaker Savignac. Established in 1754, this atelier uses local wood to craft their very particular cutlery. At the end of the visit, it is possible even to buy a knife with a handle made from woolly mammoth tusks which can be still found in the melted glaciers of the Pyrenees.
Upon our return to Gudanes, during aperitifs we are delighted to share a short talk on the history of table setting and fine dining through French history. We end with an informal dinner in the château kitchen serving and eating what we prepared together earlier in the day. Afterwards let’s relax with a French open air film soirée! Or if you are feeling adventurous, tonight is the night where you can explore a labyrinth of local caves carved into stone with a guide and torchlight…
Thursday 22nd May
Breakfast shall be served at Gudanes followed by the opportunity to learn about and assist with the restoration and unveiling of 18th century frescoes in the château’s original dining room and discover more about neoclassical architecture and the influence of Italian design during this period of time.
After an early luncheon there is the opportunity to visit the Neolithic cave of Niaux, just a short drive away, with its cave paintings dating back 17,000 years ago. Walk through the cave on a guided tour to go back in time by the glow of your torchlight and discover this cave from prehistoric times.
Alternatively, we offer you one of the following guided adventures amongst the mountains of the Pyrenees - kayaking along the local river, hiking through the valley or electric biking up the famous Plâteau de Beille for a panoramic view of the mountaintops. Or, if you prefer to we can offer the experience to learn book binding and the art of calligraphy.
Afternoon tea shall be served at Gudanes. Later for aperitifs in the Renaissance kitchen, we invite a local historian to join us and share the history of the Cathars, who roamed this region until the 12th Century. Dinner will be held in the Salon de Musique - an elegant 18th Century banquet fit for queens and kings! Then followed by a night of disco dancing!
Friday 23rd May
We bid you farewell nos amis… Depart from Gudanes to Toulouse at 11:00 AM. Our journey shall take approximately 1 hour and 30 minutes. We kindly ask that you organise your ongoing travels around this departure time. We are able to drop you at the Toulouse airport, train station or Place Wilson.
