Word: chateaus
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
While the chateaus of France have long welcomed wine tourists, enoturismo is only just coming of age in northeastern Spain's Rioja Valley. But what a vintage - the winemakers have hired some of the world's top architects to create full-bodied bodegas to impress. Here are a few that are stopping traffic; be sure to arrange visits in advance...
...from castles to cottages in France, Italy, Spain and other European countries--and often for less than the price of a cramped apartment in Manhattan. "In the past five years," says Emile Garcin, owner of a French real estate agency that caters to foreigners, "the number of Americans buying chateaus has doubled." One big reason is the strong dollar, which has gained 40% against the franc since 1995 and 20% against the euro since that currency was launched two years...
...equally attractive. A two-bedroom ski chalet in Haute-Savoie rents for $300 a month. A one-bedroom flat in central Paris goes for about $2,000 a month, as does a four-bedroom home near the beach in Nice. "Americans can find great deals on little 19th century chateaus," says Serge Henu, director of the France Chateaux agency in Brittany. "For the French, that's not considered old enough to be interesting...
Eighteenth century chateaus are particularly desirable because of their large windows and roomy interior spaces. Laure Jakobiak, who works on chateau restorations with architect Bruno Lafourcade, says, "It is essentially Americans who are interested in restoring chateaus. They are very attracted by the history...
...woman dubbed "Madame Loire" by the French press, this is a sacred duty. The Loire is France's longest river--630 miles from its source in south-central France to its estuary on the Atlantic--and one of the most historic. Generations of French kings built their most beautiful chateaus in the temperate Loire Valley. It is home to some of France's most prestigious vineyards. The wetlands around the relatively shallow, meandering river and its tributaries provide a rich habitat for hundreds of species of birds and other animals; eel, trout and Atlantic salmon ply the waters...