Walk to cafés, center town location overlooking a castle
House • Montsoreau France
7 Guests
3 Bedrooms
3 Beds
1.5 Bathrooms
1 Car space
Primary home
Exchange types accepted
Simultaneous
Non-Simultaneous
Non-Reciprocal & Globe
Hospitality
Statistics
Listed February 2024
Views 727
General overview
We absolutely love this house and we know you will too! It’s in the center of Montsoreau, one of the most beautiful villages in the Loire Valley. There are numerous castles and historical sites to visit nearby. The Loire a Velo bike trail runs right through the town and along the river - perfect for cycling. You can walk to cafes, the weekly market, the monthly antiques fair, and several restaurants. Saumur, a lovely town of about 30k people, is a 15 min drive (or a 45 min bike ride) down the Loire River. Chinon, where Joan of Arc visited the king to ask for troops, is 15 min away in the other direction.
The space
The house is on three levels. On the first level, you’ll find a cozy living area which is open to the kitchen. The house shares a courtyard with the guest house, which is also available for swaps.
Up the stairs, you’ll find a large bedroom (160 x 200 queen size bed) overlooking the quiet road where the tourists like to stroll. There is another smaller bedroom (140 x 200 double bed), a toilet room and a separate shower/bath room.
Up another set of (narrow and a little steep) stairs, you’ll reach the attic. This is a large, vaulted space with a queen size bed (160 x 200) and a twin bed (90 x 200). There is also a toilet room so that no one needs to go down the steep attic stairs at night.
Guest access
3 floors - ground floor, première étage, and the attic which is best left to those who don’t mind the steeper staircase.
The courtyard is enclosed and shared with the guest house.
Features
Washer
Dishwasher
Clothes dryer
Oven
Microwave
Coffee machine
Fridge
Iron
Hair dryer
Heating
Air conditioning
TV
WiFi
High Speed Internet
Bathtub
First aid kit
Wheelchair accessible
Smoke alarms
Fire extinguisher
Bed sheets
Towels
Workspace
Fireplace
Home cinema
Toys
Gym
Sauna
BBQ
Pool
Hot tub
Balcony
Garden / yard
Deck / patio / courtyard / terrace
Covered porch / verandah
Kosher home
Meat-free kitchen
Gated community
EV Home Charger
Bikes
Camping gear
Kayak
Tennis court
Standup paddleboard
House rules
Suitable for infants under 2
Suitable for children ages 2-12
Pets not allowed
No smoking
Allergens
Cat free
Carpet free
Smoke free
Fragrance free
Dates of Availability
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Neighbourhood
Several good restaurants, cafes, a local bakery, a butcher shop, a small grocery store, a four star hotel/spa with an indoor pool where you can purchase day passes. The chateau of Montsoreau which is a contemporary art museum. The town of Candes which has several restaurants, tea rooms, wineries. Also, a mushroom growing cave with a restaurant. Galleries. All those are within walking distance.
Further out, there are so many places to visit - castles, museums, Fontevraud Abbey, Chinon, Saumur, concerts, tiki style bars along the Loire in summmer. It’s an excellent area with so much to do.
Getting to my home
In theory, you could make do without a car if you were content to walk/bike everywhere. You would take the train down from Paris to Saumur. Then, you’d catch the bus from Saumur (Google ogalo Saumur bus for schedules and routes) - it’s 2 euros per ride - and take line 01 toward Fontevraud. The bus stops in the center of Montsoreau and it’s about a 6 min walk up to the house. That said, it’s nice to have a car and if you want to see some of the more famous Loire Valley castles, you’ll need a car.
Nearest airport
Paris for international flights. Tours (1 hour) or Poitiers (1 hour 10 min) for inter-Europe travel.
Saumur train station if arriving by train.
Getting around
Everything is walkable but a car is needed if you want to explore the greater area and go to a bigger grocery store (the one in Montsoreau is great, but it’s small…more for last minute necessities).
Map of Approximate Location
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Feedback
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Premium
Lara
Me, my husband Patrick, and our two kids, Marc (16) and Patch (13)
"We have always wanted to go, but have never been."
Dates flexible
Dates flexible
Dates flexible
"Our kids want to see the American West. We’d love to take them from Arizona all the way up through Colorado and the major parks, up to the badlands in South Dakota."
Dates flexible
"We’d love to go anywhere warm in January or February! It doesn’t necessarily need to be Florida - just someplace with sunshine. :)"
Dates flexible
Dates flexible
Dates flexible
Dates flexible
Dates flexible
Dates flexible
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Primary bedroom overlooking the historic center of town
View from the main bedroom overlooking the street which is the “historic heart of Montsoreau” - a mostly pedestrian plaza where people walk in order to access the chateau.
Second Sunday of the month - huge antiques fair just a few minutes’ walk from the house
Up in the attic, there’s a queen size bed and a single twin bed as well as a separate toilet room. The stairs are a bit steep up to the attic and my 6’ tall teenager bumped his head the first night on the crossbeam, but otherwise it’s a great space.
Relax in the bath while enjoying a spectacular view of the castle
View from the back steps of the main house. The guest house (also available for swaps) is pictured to the right, tucked behind the bay leaf tree.
We love to walk or bike along the Loire on the “Loire a Velo” bike trail. On the way back, you can stop by one of the bars, cafes or the salon de the in Montsoreau. Home is just a 3 min walk from the center of Montsoreau.
Montsoreau is such a beautiful village. There are so many winding back roads lined with flowers and grape vines.
This is the front entrance of the house. You enter in through the iron gate and that puts you in the courtyard. The main house is to the left (pictures with the white shutters) and there is a smaller guest house (often rented full time) on the other side of the courtyard.
There are plenty of local restaurants within walking distance. It's like being in a fairy tale when you walk back to the house and enter the courtyard to find the castle all lit up at night.