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Price Range: £1350 to £3000 (GBP)

The Estate
In Arcadian Périgord, guarding the Dordogne Valley close to the River Dordogne, Château Raysse is a resplendent Mediaeval chateau constructed in the twelfth and seventeenth centuries. The Gardens Château Raysse emerges from 20 acres of meadows, centennial trees and wilderness. Shallow sunshine shards dapple secluded spots in the expansive gardens and desultory walks snake through the woods. Children love our animals. We have several gambolilng deer, two bossy donkeys, - Vanille and Chocolat and two quizzical goats - Esmeralda and Quasimodo. History The castle?s tower was laid in 1155 for the Raysse family, allies of the French Aquitaine duchy which was unpatriotically siding with Eleanor and her English husband Richard the Lionheart against the French king Louis VII. The body of the Chateau was built at the end of the religious wars (about 1690) . The overlayings of history interweave the fibrous interstices of Chateau Raysse . Environs Chateau Raysse languishes close to the bar and restaurant of the village of Cazoules, is ten minutes from bustling Souillac and only half an hour from Sarlat, the ancient regional capital. Château Raysse is a gorgeous hideaway for families, seminars, weddings or workgroups. Getting there is easy. It is close to three international airports and rail.. There is a range of activities to choose near the estate, including canoeing, golf and horseriding.

Activities
Top Ten things to Make Your Day in Dordogne: 1. Rent a canoe on the river Dordogne. 2. Visit the caves at La Cave. Lascaux or Domme. The Grotte de Lascaux near Montignac contains 17,000 --year-old Cro-Magnon animal paintings. 3. Take a walk through the grounds and meet the donkeys and deer. Go horseriding, cycling, walking, climbing or caving - or play golf 4. Take a nearby train to Limoge, Brive, Cahors, Toulouse or even Paris 5. Take a drive to Sarlat, La Roque Gageac- often voted France?s prettiest village, cliff-built Rocamadour or Martel 6. Visit Cordes, the pearl of the bastides 7. Visit a vineyard in Bordeaux 8. Chill out at one of the swimming pools. Have a barbecue. 9. Visit the gardens of le Manoir D?Eyrignac 10. Eat riverside at Brantome There are riding stables nearby, which cater for riders of every level of expertise, where you can hire horses for an hour or two or for the day, golf courses at Souillac and Vitrac and you can hire canoes on the Dordogne river. Sarlat's Saturday morning market is famous, full of chatter and colour, the stalls spreading into the narrow streets around the market square. The town is full of medieval, Gothic and 17th century facades and a pleasant place to wander through, particularly in the early and later part of the year when it is quiet. The square in front of the Cathedral is a good spot to stop and sit on a cafe terrace and watch the world go by and there are several restaurants to choose from. It also has an active and varied program of musical and theatrical events through the summer months. If you take the riverside road towards Beynac (20 minutes), you will see a remarkable feudal castle crowning the cliff ahead of you. The village below was originally troglodyte, built on shelves in the cliff and finishing in a group of humble houses around the skirts of the castle. There can be few places left, which still creates a feeling of stepping into a medieval past. An hour's drive will bring you to Bergerac and the vineyards that surround it. Apart from the Bergerac wines, Pécharmant just to the north of the town is a tiny area that makes an excellent red wine and Monbazillac to the south, produces a sweet, white wine that is good with foie gras.

The Region
NEARBY Chateau Pas de Raysse is situated in a lush countryside of wooded hills and hidden valleys, vineyards, walnut groves and orchards, fields of maize and sunflowers, farms producing foie gras, towering châteaux and ancient villages and towns, which scatter a landscape steeped in history. There is a quality of life here, old values still exist together with the benefits of modern living and the people are open and welcoming. Almost everywhere you go are restaurants ranging from family run country ones to gastronomic, all at reasonable prices. CAZOULES Only 300m away, Cazoules has a sleepy, bar restaurant and a renowned boulangerie. SOUILLAC A five minute drive away, Souillac has lots of charming shops, an enclave of old streets, the byzantine-domed abbey church of Ste Marie with exquisite carvings and a remarkable mujseum containing a large collectiojn of automated dolls! It hums to an International Jazz Festival in mid-July SARLAT Sarlat's Saturday morning market is famous, full of chatter and colour, the stalls spreading into the narrow streets around the market square. The town is famed for its medieval, Gothic and 17th century architectureand a pleasant place to wander through, particularly in the early and later part of the year when it is quiet. The square in front of the Cathedral is a good spot to stop and sit on a cafe terrace and watch the world go by and there are several restaurants to choose from. It also has an active and varied program of musical and theatrical events through the summer months. BEYNAC If you take the riverside road towards Beynac (20 minutes), you will see a remarkable feudal castle crowning the cliff ahead of you. The village below was originally troglodyte, built on shelves in the cliff and finishing in a group of humble houses around the skirts of the castle. There can be few places left, which still creates a feeling of stepping into a medieval past. BERGERAC An hour's drive will bring you to Bergerac and the vineyards that surround it. Apart from the Bergerac wines, Pécharmant just to the north of the town is a tiny area that makes an excellent red wine and Monbazillac to the south, produces a sweet, white wine that is good with foie gras and pastries or just by itself. DOMME Perched high above the Dordogne Valley, is Domme, a 13th century bastide village with honey coloured houses leading to the market place and a terrace overlooking the Dordogne river far below and over towards waves of hills receding into the Auvergne, as well as the famous caves of Lascaux and Eyzies and their extraordinary prehistoric cave paintings.

Toulouse distance 100 min

Limoges distance 60 min

bordeaux distance 150 min

Property Features
Sleeps 18
Doublebeds 6
Twinbeds 2
Bathrooms 5
Cooker
Microwave
Fridge
Freezer
Linenprovided
Traffic Low
Romantic
Openfire
Patio
Privatepool
Airport Bergerac
Airportdistance 60 min
Walking On site
Cycling On site
Horseriding 45 Minutes away
Golf 15 Minutes away
Tennis 15 Minutes away
Climbing 15 Minutes Away
Garden

Property extras:
Stunning views of the Dordogne Valley