Come for gorgeous tapestries, sumptuous chandeliers, and a week of total, unabashed luxury. Not only do you find a ‘grand salon’, an aspidistra’d dining room and a kitchen fit for the Brothers Bocuse, there are a series of peaceful, elegant, intimate ‘boudoirs’ tucked in between.
Pop into Lauzerte for its twice-weekly market, or lunch at L’Etincelle. Set off for the amazing hilltop castle of Bonaguil, 50km, and Moissac with its world-famous Abbey. Cahors, straddling the river Lot, is one of south-west France’s most unspoilt towns and the centre of the local wine trade.
Return to a park of mature trees and lawns, a pool house, bar and pool, terraces, snooker, and a tennis court the other side of a stream. As for the bedrooms, they come in warm terracottas and deep forest greens. One suite has a circular bath, another a double shower…the attention to detail is exceptional.
I would love to get a group of friends together, a suitcase full of hiking clothes for the daytime and evening dresses for dinner, and play the Chatelaines in this very handsome château for a week. The owner is a talented decorator and the kitchen is a chef's dream!