A country manor with six hectares of grounds, transformed into tourist accommodation with gîtes, beside the beautiful Morvan regional nature park in B
A country manor with six hectares of grounds, transformed into tourist accommodation with gîtes, beside the beautiful Morvan regional nature park in Burgundy.
In the south of France's Yonne department, vast plains turn into undulating landscape as the wooded Morvan hills emerge in an enchanting backd-rop of valleys. This estate overlooks one of these valleys. It lies in an ideal location, between the beautiful Tonnerrois and Chablisien provinces and the spectacular Morvan regional nature park, which is 35 minutes away. You can reach Paris in 2 hours and 15 minutes via the A6 motorway, which you can get onto in 15 minutes. Not only does the local region offer a rich range of excellent vineyards, but it also includes a wealth of built heritage with places like Reigny Abbey, the Château d'Ancy-le-Franc, which is 30 minutes away, and Noyers-sur-Serein, which is 15 minutes away and is recognised as one of France's most beautiful villages.
The property used to be one of the four fiefs that were part of the Coutarnoux seigneury. It is now the last remaining representative of this former seigneury. Today's buildings were probably built upon a medieval site. They are the last reflection of what a local nobleman built in 1775. The estate looks down over a wooded valley, around which lush hills, pasture and forests stretch as far as the eye can see. The bucolic atmosphere that reigns here is completely calm, recalling the name of the river that edges the property: the River Serein, 'serein' meaning 'serene' in French. You reach the property via a lane that climbs up a hill. There are several driveways. Two of them lead into the grand courtyard from the north and south sides. The main house and the gîtes stand around this court. The third driveway, marked with signposts, takes the clients straight to the car park.
The main edificeThe main edifice has a central section framed between two smaller sections. It faces east and towers over the valley, which it looks down at. Its facade is divided into five bays, arranged symmetrically. Its stonework of small blocks of rubble stone with larger stones for the quoins is typical of the region's country homes. The top floor has been raised. You can still see the original windows, which are now walled up. Its slate roof is punctuated with three hipped dormers at the front and three on the court side too. A terrace extends at the foot of the edifice and surrounds the swimming pool, from where you can admire a sweeping view of the surrounding hills.
The ground floor
An entrance hall with a floor of beautiful Burgundy stone slabs and a vaulted ceiling connects to the lounge and dining room, which share half of the ground floor. Stairs lead from the hallway up to the first floor. The dining room has a tiled floor and a monumental fireplace of tuffeau stone. The lounge has wood strip flooring and a 19th-century-style fireplace that is also made of sculpted tuffeau stone. Large windows bathe the two rooms in natural light, beneath high vaulted ceilings. Beyond the dining room, there are two rooms: a kitchen and a scullery. They are completed with a utility room, cellars and a boiler room.
The first level
Because of the slope of the land, this level is both a ground floor, from the court side, and a first floor, from the spiral stone staircase that climbs up from the hallway below and is edged with a plain wrought-iron balustrade. This level has a floor of beautiful stone slabs and high ceilings. It connects to a lounge with a stone fireplace and to two rooms, including a bedroom with a bathroom and a lavatory. A staircase leads up to the floor above. Beyond the lounge, there is a dual-aspect room that currently serves as a billiard room. It is a warmly welcoming room with a ceiling of exposed joists and beams, a floor adorned with large stone slabs, walls of ...
