A 16th-century Provençal-style chateau on a wooded hillside with a sweeping view of France's Ardèche hills - ref 699109
A 16th-century Provençal-style chateau on a wooded hillside with a sweeping view of France's Ardèche hills.
The property lies in the south of France's Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, in the east of the country's beautiful Ardèche department. It is located near the River Rhône valley and the N86 trunk road, in the heart of an unspoilt natural environment that enjoys absolute privacy. The chateau was built in the 16th century. For a long time, it belonged to the Chambaud de Saint-Lager family. It stands on a wooded hillside and looks down at a discreet valley through which the River Payre flows. It also gazes at the Coiron plateau. It is less than 15 minutes from the spectacular Monts d'Ardèche regional nature park. The property is only 10 kilometres from a slip road onto the A7 motorway, in the centre of a triangle formed by the cities of Valence, Montélimar and Privas. This makes it highly accessible. Furthermore, it enjoys absolute calm.
You enter the property via a covered carriage gateway with stone pillars and a tiled roof. The painted wooden gate leads into a gravelled court with plants. On the right, there is a French formal garden with white rose bushes. This little garden adds a touch of refinement to the edifice. The chateau is typical of the 16th-century Provençal architectural style. It has been restored to preserve its Ardèche charm. It has a ground floor, a first floor and a second floor in the roof space, which could be converted. It faces north and south. Its plain elevations are made of dressed stone that has been lime-rendered. These elevations are punctuated with rectangular windows set in white surrounds. The windows are fitted with shutters painted green. Hipped and gabled roofs of barrel tiles crown the edifice. These roofs are underlined with triple-row génoise cornices. Concrete terraces edge the edifice on its south and west sides. The east wing, to which the chateau is linked via its north-east corner, houses a caretaker's house and an orangery beneath an apartment. Forming an L shape, this east wing is extended with a paved terrace on its south side and, like the main section of the chateau, it displays the architectural characteristics that are typical of Provençal houses: rendered stone elevations and roofs of local tiles with one or two slopes. The wing used to be a stable for horses. It was built at the same time as the chateau. Later, it was later turned into an orangery. The whole edifice is surrounded by one hectare of grounds that include trimmed hedges, a Japanese pond, a swimming pool with a view of the River Payre valley and a former tennis court. Walking trails runs through the grounds and an oak forest edges it. So it is the perfect backd-rop for nature lovers. For the past 20 years, the chateau has been a guesthouse. It became a guesthouse following roughly 10 years of renovation work on it. As a guesthouse, it offers seven bedrooms, five of which have been transformed for hosting guests and have their own private bathrooms. Its rooms mix old furniture units, fine Provençal quilting and lime-plastered walls, making the interior particularly charming. All the roofs and the second-floor insulation were renovated a few years ago. And all the windows are double-glazed.
The chateau
The ground floor
The entrance door leads into a spacious hallway with a groin-vaulted ceiling. This hall connects to the different reception rooms on the ground floor. These reception rooms connect to each other. First, there is a former kitchen with a floor and walls of dressed stone. Next, there is a large dining room. Like the kitchen, it has a groin-vaulted ceiling and a floor of old terracotta tiles. Further on, there is a large lounge with a stone fireplace. This south-facing lounge leads to an old chapel, which has been turned into an office. Then there is a reading room with a ...
