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The Studio at the Chateau de la Trousse has authentic antique features: very high ceilings, antique hand-made cabinet doors, beautiful proportions, a tall shuttered window, antique French oak dining furniture, French oak flooring, miles-long views past the chateau's ornamental pond & 17th-century buildings across the countryside, & furniture that belonged to the count--a genuine chateau experience. It's all superbly maintained, & modern elements include a modern kitchen & full bath, 24-hour security (not needed here, but soothing), food delivery & taxi service on site, heated pool, tennis court--a stay at the studio blends modern comfort & design with genuine antique beauty, not to mention easy access to France's most famous sites and greatest city.
The chateau, with its birdsong, clean air, and beautiful grounds and architecture, is another world. The complex was built in the 1600's; the present chateau, in 1864. Stables, orangerie, and other 17th century buildings are beautifully maintained & in use.
The 16-hectare (abt 40 acres) grounds include beautiful old stone work and elaborate antique wrought-iron gates, a long allee of tall ancient plane trees and another of chestnut trees, other huge ancient trees and structures, ornamental pond, herb garden, rose garden, garden with espaliered fruit trees, mature orchard (enjoy the fresh fruit), small forest, greenhouse (glass house; its ornate iron roof is below), cobbled courtyards, tennis court, heated swimming pool, and other unexpected good things.
Guests are welcome to enjoy all this and the petit salon, stone cellars, and other shared areas in the chateau. The studio is on the 2nd floor. The chateau is never crowded--there are only a few apartments.
The studio is fully renovated, heated, furnished with antiques and modern furniture, and very comfortable, with a ceramic tile bathroom (with toilet, sink, and shower); tiled kitchenette with refrigerator, oven, microwave/convection oven, hot plate; very comfortable double-bed sofa with birch slats and high-end mattress that's so comfortable I replaced my bed at home with one just like it; single aerobed and foam hassock-bed so guests can sleep separately or share the double bed; two wicker chairs; antique French-oak dining table & 4 chairs; kitchen, bed, and bath linens; and everything you need for kitchen and dining except the food.
The area is beautiful and comfortable, summer and winter. Warmer in winter and cooler in summer than the US middle Atlantic. Quiet walkable and bikeable roads, music and art performed in ancient buildings, restaurants, beautiful old structures, and river and canal vistas and activities are abundant, and you can enjoy Paris while staying in a beautiful, restful haven: we're 45 minutes from Paris by train and 30 minutes by car.
Or walk or bike whenever you feel like it to Lizy, 1.8 miles away. Lizy has the shops you'd expect in France--great bakeries with fresh bread twice a day, butcher, etc.--and also a supermarche with everything you possibly could need--food, wine, maps, even clothes,.... The supermarche has amazingly good refrigerated (not frozen) dinners we've seen only in France, offered by the great French chefs. So you don't have to cook OR go out to eat well. The local restaurants are terrific--some on gardens, some on rivers, some on both--and their prices are much lower than in Paris--€11 for a 3-course meal.
TRANSPORTATION
The Lizy-sur-Ourcq train station is 3 km or 1.8 miles from the chateau, an easy walk, drive, or bus ride from the gate. The big Meaux Station is about 10 km or 6 miles away. The chateau offers inexpensive private taxi service & food delivery & there's Lizy taxi service.
Hourly Paris/Meaux trains run from around 5 am to about 1 am, and to Lizy to about 8 pm. You could park a rental car at Meaux or go by bus or taxi between Meaux and Lizy.
We reach the chateau by car from Charles de Gaulle airport (CDG) in about half an hour. CDG has rental cars for €220/week, & local rentals are €100 euros/week. Major highways go directly into Paris from near the chateau. We're happy to help you find good auto & air rates.
You can ride horses, play golf, see museums, hear music in ancient buildings, see theater and movies, etc., in the vicinity, including many hidden treasures, and the Champagne region is less than 40 minutes away. You're also within easy reach of a farm that welcomes visitors, Eurodisney (20 minutes), not to mention Versailles, Fontainebleau, Vincennes, Saint-Germaine-en-Laye, La Malmaison, Courson, Vaux-le-Vicomte, the race course at Chantilly--the Romans were here, too, leaving 2nd Century aqueducts and amphiteaters. There are too many beautiful places to explore--enough for a lifetime.
NUTS AND BOLTS
To comply with chateau policy and to keep the chateau quiet, we ask guests not to have parties, and we also ask guests not to smoke or have pets, since we and probably others have allergies.
Dollars or euros//personal check (30 days early)/credit card/ cashier's check/money orders are fine. If you pay for conversion to dollars or euros, any currency is fine.
One week is the minimum stay. A stay of a month or more is 25% off the weekly rate. Year-round use of the studio for 182 days of your choice is €4800/year, or €400/month. 182 days would include every weekend and the summer, or any other selection of days you prefer, and only you would be using the studio, so you could leave things there and come anytime you like.
The caretaker collects €200 on arrival as a damages deposit for the monthly rentals, & refunds it when you leave. We've never had to charge anyone for damage. Cleaning charge is €35 (please pay in euros so the caretaker can use it). €200 reserves your dates and is deducted when you pay in full. All these fees can be paid in US dollars if you prefer.
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