Mille Fleurs

Come enjoy the good life!

Mille Fleurs is a magical old 17th century Bastide, backing on to over 2 hectares of private woodland, just minutes from the old market town of Castres, in the South of France. It has been lovingly updated to offer gites for individuals or families who want to experience the beauty of an historic estate with all the modern conveniences.

Entering through large metal gates into a cobblestone courtyard you will quickly understand why it’s called Mille Fleurs – a thousand flowers! Wisteria dangles from the plaster and wood beamed façade of the ancient Bastide and many varieties of old roses ramble up the sides of the outbuildings and central Rotunda. Lavender and a multitude of other fragrant flowers border the large pool. 

A walker’s paradise, the woods of Mille Fleurs run along an old Pilgrim’s route, part of the Camino de Santiago, or St. James Way. The area is perfect for hikers, cyclists, or those wanting to enjoy the quiet and serenity of the French countryside. 

Come Stay With Us!

Our Gites

Each of our gites offer something special and can be rented singly or together to sleep up to 14 people. The gites are available for rental for a minimum of a week during the high season of July and August but shorter stays are possible at other times by request. 

To make your stay more comfortable we have air conditioning and heating in each gite as well as ceiling fans. To ensure your utmost safety we disinfect all surfaces and wash bedding and towels at high temperatures to provide a safe and friendly environment for our guests.

The Courtyard gite comfortably sleeps 4. To enter you climb stone steps from the main courtyard to the first floor. On the right, before you enter, is your own covered deck with large outdoor dining table and chairs, overlooking the pool for those nights when you want to eat outside or watch the sunset.

You enter into the main living/dining room with original working fireplace and comfortable sofa and chairs. A lovely old pine table and chairs offers an ideal spot for inside dining. Off this room is the Master Bedroom with Queen-sized bed, walk-in closet and full ensuite bathroom with tub/shower. A ceiling fan over the bed keeps you cool during those hot summer nights.

The separate kitchen has everything you’ll need to prepare gourmet meals: hob, oven, extractor fan, fridge/freezer, dishwasher and all the necessary pots, pans and utensils. There’s even a table and chairs in the kitchen for enjoying your morning coffee and croissant.

Down the spiral staircase you’ll find the kid’s level. There’s a bedroom with a bunkbed the kids will love but we suggest only for children over 6. Their own bathroom is steps away, with toilet and shower for their exclusive use.

The Hillside & Rose gites

The Hillside gite sleeps 4 but can be connected through adjoining doors to our Rose Suite for groups looking for additional room. This combination offers space for a total of 6 people.

To enter the Hillside gite you follow the cobblestones past the Rotunda garden and up around the back of the Bastide. This gite will appeal to those looking for quiet and seclusion. There is a terrace for your exclusive use, with dining table, chairs and loungers, next to a wall of flowers that provide complete privacy. Through your front door and just off the foyer is the full kitchen with fridge, stove with oven, dishwasher and fan. Like all of our gites, it is equipped with everything a cook could need. There are two bedrooms, the Campaign Room with a King sized bed, desk and loveseat, and the Four Poster Room with double bed, desk and lounge chair overlooking the Rotunda. These rooms share a full bathroom with large tub/shower. All bathrooms come complete with hairdryers.

The living/dining room is large, with two oversized sofas, a log burner for those cooler autumn nights and a dining table and chairs. There are floor to ceiling windows that let in plenty of sun and views out over the courtyard to the hills beyond. Most windows have wooden shutters to keep rooms cool but ceiling fans have been installed throughout the gites for added comfort.

For larger groups, the Rose Suite offers additional flexibility. Opening through to the Hillside gite, this Suite offers more than just an additional bedroom. This lovely space has its own smaller kitchen with 2-burner stove and a fridge. It has a charming sitting room with marble bistro table and two chairs and a balcony overlooking the courtyard, below. There is a Queen bedroom with its own ensuite bathroom with tub/shower. As the entrance for this is through the Hillside gite, it cannot be rented alone.

Gatehouse Gite. 

This Gite has 2 ensuite bedrooms with a dining area and a fully equipped kitchen with stove and dishwasher. Towels and bed linen are offered without charge in this accommodation. No cleaning charges.

The first bedroom has a double bed and private bathroom with shower as does the second, twin bedroom. Each bathroom is fitted to the highest quality.  

Location

Castres is about an hour east of Toulouse, the closest international airport and a quick 45-minute flight from Paris. There is also a smaller airport and train station in town. Castres is a wonderful old market town with a huge main square overlooking the river Agout, which wends its way through the town with picturesque ancient houses, perched along the banks giving the town the nickname of the “Venice of the Languedoc”. The old town offers many places to eat, enjoy a coffee or wine on the outdoor patios or take a stroll down the cobblestone streets, stopping to shop in the many lovely boutiques. 

An hour south of us is Carcasonne, an incredibly beautiful medieval, walled city where you can explore its historic sites, or taste some of the local vintages on wine tours.

Day trips are possible heading further east to Beziers, Montpellier, Sete or Narbonne with the beaches of the Mediterranean an hour and a half away.

In less than a 20 minute drive, heading south toward Le Massif Central, is Sidobre, a large granite plateau with incredible rock formations and Senier des Merveilles, an amazing park with geological formations that offer hiking trails and lots of outdoor activities with plenty of places to bike and get down to the water. In addition, of course, there is the Castres Olympique, a very successful Premiere League Rugby team so catching an international match at Stade Pierre-Fabre, with a capacity of 12,500 is always a possibility given enough lead-time to get tickets!

Things to Do

There is a wonderful Italian-style theatre that offers music, plays and opera, depending on the season. The Goya Museum is another venue popular with tourists and locals alike and offers a unique vision of the works of great Spanish masters from the 14th century to the present day. 

There are fabulous old mansions in the heart of town built in the 17thcentury during the cultural revival, a covered market built in 1868 inspired by the Baltard Pavillion in Paris. You can take the Coche d’eau (water boat) from the center of town by the main square to the Parc de Gourjade where you can wander and picnic as well as play 9 holes of golf on the local public course. There is also quite a vital nightlife, with wine bars, bistros, nightclubs with live music and even an Irish Pub!

Lautrec, voted the prettiest village in France, is less than 15 minutes away and offers wonderful local artisan shops and has a fabulous pink garlic festival in August.

Amenities 

Our guests can enjoy:

Free Wi-Fi

Off street parking

A large, shared 6.5m x 12m pool with sun loungers and tables around the sides.

Ceiling Fans in each gite

Heating and Air Conditioning 

BBQ facilities

Exercise room with Universal Gym, Exercise bike, and Cross-Trainer 

Poolside kitchen with fridge, free ice, and plastic glasses for use around the pool 

Washing machine and drying racks

Separate, private outdoor space for each gite

Linens and towels for each room (pool towels not supplied)

Local shops (10 minutes walking, 2 minute drive) such as a pharmacy, grocery store, boulangerie, car rental, bike rental, and tobacconist 

Bus stop minutes away on foot

Boutique and Brocante shopping nearby

Restaurants, outdoor cafes and farmers markets

Owners discretely on-site

For further details and availability, please contact us at:

Millefleurs.Castres@gmail.com or

Cell phone: +33 6 83 25 89 57 or main line: +33 09 77 32 13 96

33 Chemin de la Croix du Coq, Castres 81100 France