Chateau Paysan biologique & conservatoire de Durianne

The little French castle, history and stories…

Do you like castle stories? Would you like to know what pushed us to leave Paris with our 4 babies, 20 years ago, to put ourselves at the service of an old family castle in ruins? 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 lords for a moment? Durianne Castle allows you all of this at once. Coming from the hands of the famous adventurer Joseph de Fonfrède, great friend of Gérard de Nerval, the castle entered the Balme du Garay family in 1836. Full of energy and courage, the chatelaine and her family tackled the restoration of the House. A difficult choice was made: Install modern comfort while retaining the charm of the XNUMXth 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 on our timeless adventure. Françoise has created guest rooms 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 from now on protected. We thank you for your enthusiasm to invest and save our French heritage. This adventure would not be possible without you.

The eco-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 peasant farm and mixed farming conservatory. Here, in Durianne, rare animals come across: 80 bizet sheep, horses from Auvergne, geese from Toulouse, maran chickens, black pigs from Limousin, rare birds of the sky, glow worms, bats... . Yes yes, the wild animals were not mistaken; They quickly spotted this haven of peace without any chemistry. The 1000 trees planted in recent years confirm this desire to help biodiversity. The creation of this very small private nature reserve was 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 Spaces, the glow worm, the AMAP, the 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 peacefully in the orchard, horses galloping along the water's edge, geese welcome your arrival, rocks sculpted by mother nature, a big blue sky, Wake up! You have arrived at Durianne's castle. 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 Maître Goupil, trying to steal some poultry from me...