Large holiday home in Charente-Maritime

We have endeavored to create an ecologically and biologically balanced outdoor area that takes full advantage of the natural beauty of the landscape. In spring and summer, roses, irises, lilies, and honeysuckle compete with the fragrance of lavender, bay leaves, rosemary, and sage. Large meadows surround the property—everyone has their own favorite spot, all naturally organic—and we want nature to regenerate. In summer and autumn, plums, figs, and grapes ripen. Watch lizards, butterflies, birds, and much more. The Enet River borders the meadow below the house, and across the street, the sun often sets picturesquely and beautifully behind the village and its church.

The Suzanne apartment is located in our holiday home in Champagne, Charente-Maritime, France. It is one of two apartments in this house and is completely independent of the second apartment, even outside. From the street, you drive a short distance up the path next to the house to a carport. Opposite, a garden gate leads from the path directly into the garden and onto the terrace (plain in-situ concrete). From there, you enter the apartment into the kitchen, which also serves as a dining room for up to 6 people. The kitchen is well-equipped.

To the right, the kitchen leads directly into the living room. There you will find a sofa bed (2 x 90 x 200 cm, individually extendable), a large, antique wardrobe and linen cabinet, a solid old dresser, and a flat-screen TV (satellite). Three large windows with external shutters offer darkness and privacy when desired, but also allow light and sun from the east and south. The ceiling was thermally and soundproofed in 2024 to provide additional insulation to the attic above.

In the kitchen-dining room, there is a storage room under a small staircase that leads up to the bedroom with a west-facing window, also with an external shutter. The room has two beds, each measuring 80 x 190 cm, and a built-in wardrobe and linen closet, a small chest of drawers, and a desk with an armchair. Through the bedroom, you reach the shower room with a sink, shower, and toilet, with a fan-assisted ventilation system to the outside. Suzanne's residents also have access to a second toilet with a sink, as well as a washing machine in the utility room (well cistern, electricity meter/fuses), which is directly accessible from the garden.

The Nora apartment is located in our holiday home in Champagne, Charente-Maritime, France. It is one of two apartments in this house and is completely independent from the other apartment, even outside. Overall, Nora remains more closely tied to the house's 1861 construction year – the old beamed ceiling in the living room is original, as is the one above the kitchen. The wooden floor in the living room has also been around for many decades, and the previous owner laid a mosaic tile floor in the kitchen from the 1950s. At that time, the Chevallereau family and their two children built a second shower and bath facility in the former stable, next to the sink; the rustic trough, molded directly from concrete, is a testament to this. For this, the old oven had to be removed (unfortunately!); the passageway was created by reducing the size of the old giant fireplace (still visible upstairs). This allowed us to renovate the floor – using pavers from the distillery in St. Jean d'Angély (local, about 10 km away) – and install a toilet and sink, and: voilà, the washing machine. The southern part of the bathroom, now the "technical room," housed the only toilet in the 1950s, a water-saving model. It was soon replaced by a WC in 2000. This toilet is now accessible from the small garden in the technical room and now belongs to Suzanne's apartment.

We removed the staircase that led from the existing entrance door in the 1960s, which had been accessed from the outside. This allows the door to open onto the small wooden deck facing east. We then had the staircase to the upper floor built from the kitchen upwards – and were delighted when Madame Chevallereau said: "That's where the staircase to the upper floor was originally!" This made it possible to reach a room above the sink for the bathroom and toilet. Originally, it also served as a bedroom, but now there's a daybed there.

In 2024, we decided to have the attic space above Suzanne's apartment (which had been sound and thermally insulated) insulated as well. This time, all the way up to the roof, with some ceilings reaching 3.5 meters in height. This room is currently still in beautiful, unpainted condition, has plenty of space, and is furnished with two 90 x 190 cm beds and a 160 cm double bed with a metal frame, as well as a large wardrobe, two smaller cabinets, and a table with chairs. The room can accommodate four guests and serve as a playroom, even allowing for relaxing "beam-watching." Nora is an apartment for people who also like "old" things and have a sense of compromise. The reward: there's plenty of space!

From 2025, Nora will also have her own garden: exclusively enclosed by a fence and planters, approximately 140 square meters under the ancient linden tree (the scent of linden trees in June!), which, despite a lightning strike before our time, is sprouting again, with expansive views of the adjacent courtyard garden and the barn, protected to the west and north by walls and bushes. In front of the patio door, there's a gravel terrace on the north side of the house, where a large table with chairs (and a parasol) is set up. "North side" sounds "cold," but quite the opposite: in the summer, it's very pleasant to sit in the northern shade of the house!

Our house is a former farm, surrounded primarily by pastures. Directly in front of the house on the east side is the large courtyard of approximately 2500 m², enclosed by former stables, walls, and fences. To the east of the house lies a hedge circle with a rose arch. The milk truck used to make the daily circuit around the hedge to collect milk from the freshly milked cows. Since we took over the house, many plants have been planted here: roses, daylilies, a sophora, a locust tree, several bay bushes, a group of figs, a medlar, two cherry trees, but also tulips, lavender, more roses and daylilies, and irises in the triangular bed directly next to the hedge. It was always important to us to pursue a garden design that was as close to nature as possible. That's why we don't have precisely defined beds or a perfect English lawn. We completely avoid using pesticides to avoid harming insects, birds and other animals.

And we intentionally leave grass clippings from the lawnmower and cut or sawn-off branches in piles along the edge, as these are very valuable to many small animals. There are also peripheral areas where we don't mow at all, but where wild plants of all kinds, such as nettles, burdock, and grasses of all kinds, are allowed to grow – living biodiversity. Directly behind the house on the west side, beyond the hiking trail, the path descends through our orchard to the village's small stream, the Enet.

As for cars: Guests can park on the hiking trail behind the house and carry their luggage in via the short walk through the garden gate (Suzanne) or down the path through the gate (Nora). The hiking trail is only sporadically used by cars, so you can easily park a bit longer and unload in peace. Guests are welcome to park their cars in our former wood storage area, which has been converted into a carport (covered and shaded)—in the sun, it can get quite hot in a parked car!

The pool water is heated to a comfortable 26 degrees Celsius from June to September, often even beyond, by an environmentally friendly and highly efficient solar system (black pipes on the roof). Once the temperature reaches 26 degrees Celsius, the temperature is automatically regulated, meaning it is no longer increased. The water is physically disinfected by UV light during circulation. This means we can practically eliminate the need for chlorine. This is good for the eyes and spares bathers the unpleasant chlorine smell.

Such a pool is especially ideal for holidays with children. When the adults just want to relax, the kids can let off steam in the pool. You can simply place your own sun lounger right next to the pool, so you can always keep an eye on your little ones. Even if you have children who can't swim safely yet, you don't have to worry. Access to the pool can be secured with a wooden gate. The same applies if you're holidaying with a dog. If you have any further questions about the swimming pool, don't hesitate to contact us.

The section of the French Atlantic coast between La Rochelle and Bordeaux is nowhere near as overrun with tourists (yes, we are tourists ourselves) as the Mediterranean coast or even near Bordeaux (for example Arcachon). That is what makes this area so charming; just a few kilometres inland – where our house is – you can still find authentic, rural France. And as the climate is similarly mild to that of the Mediterranean, laurel and palm trees, bananas and oleanders grow outdoors, and the residents cultivate gardens that produce lettuce, strawberries, tomatoes, and other vegetables. When we first saw these gardens against the backdrop of the church and village, we were captivated, and three years later, when we were looking for a holiday home on the Atlantic coast, Le Péré – with that view – was among the estate agent's options. That made it clear: this is the one!

The location offers a variety of options for easy access to the sea, as well as to other destinations. The friendly, former farmhouse, with its spacious grounds and the old house with large rooms, old beamed ceilings, and old windows, is a very pleasant base in itself. You can easily make excursions to the many attractions (40 minutes to La Rochelle, half an hour or less to Royan, or about 15 minutes to Rochefort), with their diverse history and coastal features.

Royan, rebuilt in the 1950s (now with a seawater wave pool) and featuring many beautiful, sheltered, small rocky coves;
Rochefort, with its harbor on the Charente River and the reconstruction of the "Hermione," an 18th-century ship, and its shallow, mudflat coastal zone; and
Fouras, a small seaside resort where the ferry to Ile d'Aix and boats to Fort Boyard depart; and
La Rochelle, with its surrounding seaside resorts, impressive harbor facilities, and medieval town center, is always a very attractive destination.

Last but not least, kommen wir hier ins Weinbaugebiet an der Atlantikküste - auch hierhin vom Ferienhaus kein weiter Weg - wo berühmte Weinbaulagen und Winzereien aufgesucht werden können - bis hin nach Bordeaux oder Cognac. Bordeaux ist die gut eine Stunde entfernte Großstadt an der Atlantikküste die fast jeder dem Namen nach kennt, natürlich gibt es dort auch enorm viel zu sehen und zu besuchen; in Cognac wiederum, einem kleineren Ort in etwa einer Stunde Entfernung, sind die Gebiete der Innenstadt mit Kellereien, die weltberühmte Cognacs herstellen und verkaufen - die Besichtigung ist überall möglich -, ein eindrucksvoller Anblick.

But often the best thing is to lie on the large meadow in the holiday home, listening to the cuckoo, the tits, redstarts, blackbirds, and sometimes the hoopoe, even the kingfisher, and—it's really them!—the nightingales singing tirelessly (they delight us with their songs, especially in spring and early summer). And the dog is happy too: In the large, enclosed grounds, there's plenty to discover and sniff out—or to romp around the yard with the people (big and small) who are also traveling with you. Tables and chairs or benches are provided for relaxing under trees—some 6-8 meters high—and in the hedge-enclosed central circular area with the rose arch. There's also a ball game (for the dog) or a cup of tea. This makes vacations with your dog really fun!

	Low season	High season
Apt. Suzanne	420 €/ Week	630 €/ Week
Apt. Nora	690 € / Week	1040 € / Week

Period	Apt.
06.06.25 - 20.06.25	Nora
12.07.25 - 26.07.25	Suzanne

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Welcome to our holiday home "Le Péré" in F-17620 Champagne

Apartment Suzanne (50 sqm) - the "little one"

Apartment Nora (155 sq m)

Location and Surroundings

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