The Durianne castle, dating from the 13th century, is an old garrison building on the outskirts of Le Puy en Velay and at the entrance to the Loire gorges. Today, it is an ecological farm estate that is open to visitors.
The little French chateau, History and stories ...
Do you like castle stories? Would you like to know what prompted us to leave Paris with our 4 babies, 20 years ago, to put ourselves at the service of an old ruined family castle? Do you dream of sleeping in a garrison of renaissance soldiers? or to meet a pig or a horse in a saved breed? Do you want to share the life of authentic chatelains for a moment? The castle of Durianne is all of this at the same time. Coming from the hands of the famous adventurer Joseph de Fonfrède, a great friend of Gérard de Nerval, the castle joined the Balme du Garay family in 1836. Full of energy and courage, the lady of the manor and her family set about restoring the house. A difficult choice was made: Install modern comfort while retaining the charm of the 19th century. . The family is proud to have resisted the sirens of modernism and excessive consumerism. Long live degrowth! Rest assured, the house has hot water and wifi !!
Join us in our adventure out of time. Françoise has created guest rooms in order to finance the restoration work and without knowing it you have become our patrons. The castle of Durianne has just passed with great success its passage in the commission of the buildings of France and is now protected. We thank you for your enthusiasm for investing and saving our French heritage. This adventure would not be possible without you.
The eco-friendly bohemian castle puts on a show.
The chatelaine is passionate about protecting heritage of all kinds. Also, she created around the castle, in 2009, a small organic conservatory peasant farm in mixed farming. Rare animals meet here in Durianne: 80 bizet sheep, Auvergne horses, Toulouse geese, maran hens, Limousin black ass pigs, rare sky birds, glowworms, bats. ... Yes yes, the wild animals were not mistaken; They quickly spotted this haven of peace without any chemicals. The 1000 trees planted in recent years confirm this desire to help biodiversity. The creation of this very small private nature reserve was made possible thanks to you. Françoise is also very involved in the associative world and welcomes children from social homes on vacation, works with the LPO, the Conservatory of Natural Areas, the glowworm, the AMAPs, herding dogs. The farm is open to schools and to all those who want to open up to another world.
The country castle
Imagine 10 minutes from the center of Puy en Velay, a small hill, a small path in the middle of the woods, green meadows, sheep grazing quietly in the orchard, horses galloping along the water's edge, geese greet your arrival, rocks sculpted by Mother Nature, a great blue sky, Wake up! You have arrived at the Château de Durianne. Here the countryside is calm except when the tractor passes once a day. And if you are patient, with a little luck, you will see maitre goupil, trying to steal some poultry from me ...
Moyen de paiements : Check, Currency, Cash, Credit transfer
From 15/03 to 31/10/2022
Reduced price: 7 €
Adult: 8 €
Child: 7 €.
From 01/04 to 15/09/2023
Reduced price: 7 €
Adult: 7 €
Child: 7 €.
Free entry for teachers.
Periode d‘ouverture : Summer, Spring
From 01/04 to 30/08/2024.
Closed Monday, Saturday and Sunday.