the weekender
(3 nights)
Date: 21 - 24 June 2025
Vue d'Ensemble: During your stay at Château de Gudanes, we invite you to immerse yourself in the world of brocanting and French cooking. Whether you’re discovering a new treasure or mastering a classic French recipe, this experience promises to enrich your personal collection and your culinary skills, all while soaking in the lively atmosphere of France’s beloved markets and charming local shops.
Inclusions: all dining (daily breakfast, lunch, dinner and drinks), all accommodation (3 nights at Château de Gudanes), accommodation amenities (wifi, pool, tennis court and self service laundry) 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: €3,300 per person
Note: During this stay if you find that you exceed your luggage allowance upon returning home, we will have boxes, tape and bubble wrap available for you to wrap up a parcel or two... or three! We shall then send your package and treasures by UPS direct to your home.
itinerary
Saturday 21st June
We look forward to welcoming and meeting you in the morning in a central location in Toulouse and travelling together to Château de Gudanes, where you shall spend the duration of your stay. Upon your arrival at Gudanes, the Château Team will be eagerly awaiting 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, Saturday is a gentle day beginning your stay with luncheon followed by a historical tour of the interiors. Later, château style aperitifs shall be held in the Salon de Musique accompanied by a local string quartet. A formal enchanted garden welcome dinner is then hosted in the Salle à Manger.
Sunday 22nd June
Following breakfast at the Château, we welcome you to join your choice of activity - a bookbinding and calligraphy workshop, inspired by the old world ways that crafted the antique paper ephemera of yesteryear, or a seasonal cooking class of sweet and savoury French fare, sharing classic culinary techniques and recipes with centuries of history.
After a picnic luncheon on the garden terrace, we continue in the spirit of learning about traditional craftsmanship with the opportunity to 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.
Or, should you prefer we welcome you to join us again the Château Cuisine for further cooking classes with our chef de cuisine and chef de patisserie.
In the early evening, aperitifs shall be served in the Renaissance kitchen accompanied by a cooking demonstration by our chef de cuisine and a lecture by a local historian to share the history of the Cathars, who roamed this region until the 12th Century. Dinner shall then be served en plein air accompanied by the music and merriment of a local jazz band. Afterwards let’s relax with a French open air movie soirée!
Monday 23rd June
Breakfast shall be served at Gudanes followed by a visit to the medieval town of Mirepoix to enjoy the most bustling market in the Ariège. Here you will find handmade local treasures, delectable produce and an abundance of antique and brocante boutiques.
Afterward, we shall continue our journey to visit Château de Camon for luncheon in the cloisters. Following lunch we shall resume our brocanting adventures also stopping for a visit to the L’eglise Rupestre de Vals, an extraordinary church built into giant rock formation.
Upon our return to Gudanes, aperitifs are held in the drawing room followed by an elegant 18th Century banquet fit for queens and kings! Then a night of disco dancing!
Tuesday 24th June
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.
