This is the chateau we landed when the one we booked canceled our reservation. For the full story on how got here, see our earlier post here. On its web site, the history of Château des Arpentis is as follows:

The first well-known lord was Christophe Thomas in 1313. Around 1410, the chateau became the property of Jean du Bois, majordomo of the Duke of Guise. During 16th century, it became the property of the military, and then in 1612, Louis Charles d’Albert, Duke of Luynes, became the owner, and it is also where King Louis XIII was invited to dinner on the 20th of June 1619. During the 17th century, the terrace was built on the walls that surround the moat and castle. The castle was restored in the 19th century.

In the middle of a park of thirty hectares, the castle was entirely restored in 2007-2008. The chateau has a grand total of only 12 guest rooms.

Like many chateau and manor houses in the area, for the nobles, hunting was the main activity. So the whole place is decorated by all kinds of hunting trophies. Some of these stuffed animals must look pretty scary at night.

Despite the animal heads, no guns or weapons of any kind were displayed.

There is a “common” room on the first floor where drinks were served at certain times during the day and the guests could congregate to chat, play pool, and socialize.  A large family of Americans were there when we arrived around 9pm the night before.

Above the fireplace, the metal emblem in the shape of an animal with a crown on its back is a porcupine. This animal seems to be the mascot or something of the place – there were more little sculptures of them lying around the room.

This room on the ground floor was not opened. But it can certainly support some social functions.

The chateau is a life-size Cluedo playboard, it could be a perfect place to host a murder mystery party. And the setting is authentic enough for something real to happen, given the right combination of people and motives.

We met the owner who bought the property several years ago and now runs it as a hotel. The couple owns another property in the area where we also stayed, see later post.

Except breakfast time when we saw the other guests, there was hardly any one around.

How big is 30 hectares of land ? Where were the animals we saw the night before ?

There is a stream running in front of it and a bridge that takes one to the meadow and the pond.

Although we were there at the end of May, it was too early to open the pool. This outdoor space must be great during the long summer days.

This is such an idyllic spot to linger, read a book, take a nap.

According to one of the guidebooks, it says that the Loire Valley has long been described as exemplifying la douceur de vivre (if we were in Italy, it would be la dolce vita). … “The overall impression conveyed by the region is one of an unostentatious taste for the good things in life.” We were curious as to what is being offered in this region to qualify such a statement.  Voilà.

We hope to come back for a longer stay. In mid-summer.