Three weeks. Twenty-one stages. Over 3,000 kilometres of the most beautiful countryside in the world. The Tour de France is many things, but above all it is a reminder of what France looks like from a closer perspective. We've been selling remarkable French properties for years: Here are five of our favorites, from the Pas-de-Calais to the Pyrenees. This is our own personal Tour de France, property by property.
Château Holtz, Éperlecques, Saint-Omer, France | Sold at auction · Previously listed at €1.5M
An elegant 18th-century château set on over 12 countryside acres in the Pas-de-Calais, just 55 minutes from London by Eurostar and three hours from Paris. The main house features original marble fireplaces, flagstone floors, a 5,000-bottle wine cellar, and a heated indoor pool, with three guest cottages and a private apartment adjoining. Perfectly positioned to watch the peloton roll through the north of France on Stage 1.
Casa 26, Thonon-les-Bains, Lake Geneva, France | Sold at auction for $2.46M
Designed for European artist Marc Dentand and built using only larch, black steel, and concrete, Casa 26 sits just six metres from the edge of Lake Geneva near Évian. Cathedral windows, soaring ceilings, a private dock, and panoramic views of the Alps in every direction. One hour from Geneva Airport, ninety minutes from Italy, and very far from anywhere ordinary.
Château de Charbonnières, Eure-et-Loir, France | Sold at auction · Previously listed at €9M
A neo-Gothic château built in the 16th century and expanded in the 18th, set within 32 hectares of the Perche Nature Park in Eure-et-Loir (a frequent haunt of King Henry IV). Three thousand square metres of gilded ceilings, original marble, a ballroom, library, 18th-century kitchen, private lake, and 20-plus suites across three levels. Sold at no reserve in October 2017.
Haras de l'Ermitage, Aunou-le-Faucon, Normandy, France | Sold at auction for $1.878M
A 275-acre estate in Normandy's famed "Golden Triangle" comprising an 11-bedroom manor house, 46 loose boxes, stables, indoor arenas, two tennis courts, a pool, a gym and sauna, artificial lakes, and a double-platform helipad. Land primed for a 9-hole golf course, borders a national forest, and sits three hours from Paris and one hour from Caen airport. The most quintessentially Norman property in this list—and quite possibly the best vantage point for the mountain stages.
Château Roquehort, Monein, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, France | Sold at auction for $1.092M
A majestic château built in 1811 and fully renovated in 2012, set in its own enclosed park with a private lake in the heart of Jurançon wine country near Pau and practically on the route of the Tour's Pyrenean stages. Five ensuite bedrooms, an oak staircase, a sauna, a pool, and Béarnaise countryside panoramas on every side.
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