Getting here

WHERE ARE WE?

Château de la Ruche, 72290, Teillé, France

You’ll find Château de la Ruche tucked away in the countryside 20 minutes from the beautiful ancient city of Le Mans in the Pays de la Loire.

The Château is just a few minutes from the A28 auto-route that takes you from Calais to the South of France, making us the perfect place to stop as you travel through France.

Calais is an easy four-hour drive from us. Caen is just an hour and a half away. La Havre and St Malo are two and a half hours away.

Our closest airport is Tours and there are regular Ryanair flights from London Stansted all year round. Nantes airport is two hours away and has flights from Edinburgh, Liverpool, Manchester, Birmingham, Southampton, Bristol and London.

There are direct trains from Paris Charles de Gaulle airport to Le Mans and from Gare Montparnasse in central Paris. Car hire is available at Le Mans train station from all the usual companies.

We recommend that all of our guests have a car, our drive is almost a kilometre long in itself and the local area is lovely to explore. It you’d prefer not to drive it is possible to use Uber to travel from Le Mans train station to the Château. Please note though that it isn’t possible to use Uber to arrange travel from the Château back to Le Mans – you need to ask your driver to come and collect you when you check-out.

A few frequently asked questions

We are pretty rural, our driveway itself is almost a kilometre long, so we do recommend our guests have a car. Public transport is extremely limited so if you want to explore the area (and it’s really pretty so we’d recommend it), it’s worth having a car. Our local village is tiny so there sadly aren’t any restaurants or bars within walking distance.

We’re really sorry but we don’t allow any pets. We have a dog and five cats though so you’re welcome to borrow one of those for a cuddle.

There are all sorts of things to keep you entertained. If you love food and wine you can visit some fabulous markets and tour the vineyards of Saumur, Anjou and Touraine. If antiques are your thing we’ll tell you all of our local brocanting secrets. You can relax at the lake beach in Sillé-le-Guillaume or canoe down the river Sarthe. You can drive the twisting scenic roads of the Alpes Mancelles and visit Saint Ceneri le Gerei, voted one of the most beautiful villages in France. For families, there are local zoos and theme parks plus plenty of space to play at the Château.

Children over 10 are welcome to stay in the chambres d’hotes and gîte. We serve a children’s menu for children 12 years and under. This is served at 8pm with the adult meals.

Yes you have. Our journey here at the Château has been followed by the folk at Escape to the Château DIY for Channel Four in the UK.

Filming the show has been another huge adventure. It was great fun and we’re so excited that Channel Four felt that our little renovation project was worth all the effort that goes in to make these programmes. We feel so fortunate to have this record of our time here and of the progress we have made in rescuing this beautiful house. You can see our episodes on week (episodes 6-10) or series two of Escape to the Chateau DIY on 4OD.

WHERE ARE WE?

A few frequently asked questions

Do I need to hire a car

Do you accept dogs?

What is there to do in the local area?

Are children welcome at the Château?

Have we seen you on the TV?