Beautiful Spaces: Where I Stayed in the Loire Valley

Welcome back to Beautiful Spaces—a series of posts in which I talk about the places where I stay during my travels. It all started in 2013 when I realized that my contentment on the road is directly connected to how much I love where I’m living…and so made a commitment to find beautiful spaces to call home along the way. This is one such space. I received a free stay at this particular spot in exchange for this review. But, as always, opinions are my own. Excepting the main photo and the bird mural, photos were provided by the owner.

As you probably know, I spent this September cycling across France. I worked through some heavy emotions. I wandered in some castles. And I stayed in a lot of different places, including one countryside gite (a gite, for those who don’t know, is a furnished holiday home in France).

The gite, which was one of my top two favorite places I stayed on the journey, was one of two lovely little holiday homes on a property called La Coyere.

My place, known as The Cottage, was a country-style two-bedroom with exposed wood beams, a brick fireplace, an old stable door (which you can open at the top to let in the fresh air without opening the bottom and letting your dog out), and rustic furnishings.

The master bedroom (pictured above) was my favorite room in the house. Charming, rustic, welcoming…it was a welcome relief to crawl into bed in the evenings and I rarely made it more than a page or two into my book before the cozy bed lulled me into sleep.

I also spent a lot of time in the kitchen, a large room where the kind, helpful property caretakers had set me up with fresh eggs from the farm next door, a fresh baguette, some sweet jam, butter, and even a bowl of chili in the fridge. I almost cried over that bowl of chili, such a welcome gift after a long day of cycling the French backroads.

The place also a has a second bedroom (though, of course, Luna and I didn’t need it), so it’d be a good place for a family or a couple couples.

Outside the home itself, La Coyere has another little rental called The Wine Store, as well as a pool, a game room (complete with foosball and billiards), and a lot of space on the property for walking.

It is the French countryside, so if you’re going to visit, I highly recommend having a car (a bike is a good second choice, but a car would be better). The property is about 30 kilometers from the main town (Saumur) and its fairy-tale castle and probably more like 40 or 45 kilometers if you are on a cycle and choose to take back roads. Internet was a bit slow during my stay, but all internet in the French countryside seems to be slow, so French countryside places are generally best for a true holiday (not a working holiday). Prices start around $950 per week (at current exchange rates) in off-season. And, of course, dogs are welcome.

Planning a trip to Europe? You can see all the beautiful spaces I’ve stayed in here.

And if you’re interested in booking the lovely little cottage for your own French countryside getaway, you can contact the incredibly nice owners here.

Going to France?

I wrote a book for you. Check it out:France: 100 Locals Tell You Where to Go, What to Eat, & How to Fit In.

Or Buy it Now:        Full-Color PDF         Kindle (.mobi)         Paperback

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