The Comte and Comtesse, Guy and Marnie de Vanssay will immediately make you feel at home as you join them for drinks in the 18th century Grand Salon with boiseries and ornate chandeliers. Candlelit dinner is served upon prior reservation in the Grand Salle à Manger with its massive burnished dresser and exquisite china collection.
Then move on to brandy and coffee in the Salon Rose under ancestral portraits or in the 'Piece à Feu' in front of the huge 14th century fireplace where a game of billiards can be enjoyed under the watchful eyes of the fox terrier, the Weimaraner and Kakou the parrot.
During the day, simply enjoy relaxed, aristocratic living, or else visit the picturesque villages with their manor houses and XIIth century romanesque churches repleat with frescoes, vineyards or further afield, the famed Loire valley castles. Superb riding and golf in the vicinity.
From Paris Roissy, Charles de Gaulle, either take the TGV, fast speed train to Le Mans, (1h50 minutes) and rent a car there (45 minutes from Château de La Barre), or take the TGV from Paris Gare Montparnasse to Vendome Villiers train station (43 minutes) and then rent a car to drive to Chateau de La Barre (25 minutes), or drive directly from Paris Roissy airport (2h15 minutes), via the motorway A11 to Bordeaux/Nantes, exiting after Chartres and before Le Mans, then taking the D1 in direction of St Calais for 12 miles.
Direct flights from London Stansted to Tours airport (55 minutes from Chateau de La Barre), via Ryannair, daily.
