an eighteenth-century château and a cluster of old barns, farmhouses and cottages, set in 40 hectares of gardens on the banks of the Eure. Paris is just over an hour away and Monet’s garden at Giverny around 40 minutes, yet it feels deep in the countryside. Once Catherine Deneuve’s country home, it’s now a beautifully relaxed hotel where the gardens steal the show. Jacques Wirtz’s box hedges roll towards the moat, more than 250 varieties of rose fill the beds and Highland cattle graze the meadows beyond (it’s one of France’s Jardins Remarquables, the official label for exceptional gardens). Inside, it’s elegant without a hint of stuffiness, all creams and stone greys, open fires and garden views. Dinner is at Les Chemins, the Michelin-starred restaurant, where the menu follows the estate’s vegetable garden, whilst Bistrot Martin serves relaxed bistro food on the orchard terrace. Add a Susanne Kaufmann spa in the old woodshed and a heated pool for summer, and an hour from Paris starts to feel like a world away…
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Pastel paint, old wainscot, oak parquet and open fires meet sculptural velvet and Carrara marble, with surrealist pictures and those snails to keep it grounded. Alexandre Lafourcade ran the restoration and put the spa where the woodshed stood, a two-storey wooden affair holding four cabins, sauna, hammam and hot and cold tubs. It was Susanne Kaufmann's first in France. Outdoors, there's a heated pool in season, tennis, padel, canoes and a vegetable garden supplying the kitchen right through the year.
Four buildings share the bedrooms out, and the river is the thing to angle for. Those in the manor and the house on the Eure keep their beams, parquet and Juliet balconies, with water directly below. The orchard house faces the other way, onto blossom and roses. Converted farm buildings hold a handful with gardens of their own, and the suites add terraces on top. Antiques throughout were individually picked rather than matching sets ordered in by the vanload.
Monet's garden at Giverny lies forty minutes off and heaves, so go at opening or don't go at all. Diane de Poitiers' château at Anet is far closer and far emptier, half pulled down in the Revolution but still holding its chapel. Canoes go out on the Eure, bikes and horses cover the valley, and Chartres raises its cathedral to the south. Paris is an hour away, which makes this a rather idyllic first or last night of a French trip.
Wirtz box hedges roll like set waves, the roses run to hundreds of old varieties, and not one bed of it was planted simply for a brochure.
Book a garden tour with Gérard, who was Catherine Deneuve’s head gardener and still looks after the grounds. He speaks French, but the hotel can arrange an interpreter.
Les Chemins is open only from Thursday dinner to Sunday lunch, so book ahead if that’s why you’re coming. Bistrot Martin serves lunch and dinner every day.
Start with a recommended trip or create one from scratch
Domaine de Primard can be booked with Timbuktu as part of a tailor-made France trip, rather than as a standalone room reservation. Start online, customising one of our recommended France trips featuring Domaine de Primard or get advice and suggestions from one of our France specialists who will design the trip around your dates, check availability and handle every booking for you.
Stays at Domaine de Primard start from around $190, or US$190, per person per night as part of a tailor-made trip. The exact price depends on your travel dates, room type and the shape of the rest of your itinerary. A Timbuktu travel specialist can give you an accurate quote for your dates.
Light-dappled scenes that intoxicated Impressionists mingle with the beaches of D-Day, bringing history to life before your eyes.
