Château D'agel : Exclusive Rental of the Castle , South of France

In the heart of France’s Minervois region in Languedoc, at 10 km from Minerve and 50 kms from the medieval city of Carcassonne, the château d’Agel is a superb family medieval castle of which the oldest part dates from the 12th century onwards, and consists of the main building, four towers and a dovecote. Its extensive terraced gardens covering 2 hectares (5 acres) offers extensive views over the Cesse valley and the Pech mountain: the ideal setting for a quiet stay . If what you have in mind is getting away from it all with family or friends, you can rent the Entire Château and have the buildings, Park and Pool all to yourselves.

The history of the Château reads like a portrait gallery of the feudal lords of South-West France. From 1200 to 1543 different lords own the chateau. In 1543, the new owners of Agel are Pierre and Simon de Beauxhostes. In 1764, the property is recorded as having been sold to Jean d'Augier of Narbonne. Thereafter, Agel continued to pass as a legacy from one owner to another, until it passed into the hands of the present owners, the Ecal family.
Wars and fires brought about many changes over the centuries, As shown in its variety of window styles, from the tiny windows of the stark 12th century fortress to the beautiful windows of the Renaissance, with their ornamental balusters and chapiters, to Trianon-style leaded panes in the 17th century.

You can rent the entire chateau (800m2) up to 18 persons, bed linen provided : 3 living rooms, 1 library with billiard table, 1 office, 2 dining rooms, 1 kitchen, 8 bedrooms, 7 bathrooms, park of 2ha with heated swiming pool.
On the ground floor: a spacious entrance hall leading to the Great Hall, the small drawing room, the library with billiard and the dining room, kitchen and lavatories nearby.
On the first floor: the upstairs drawing room, four double bedrooms, one triple bedroom, four bathrooms.
On the second floor: two double rooms, two bathroom, a big drawing room
In the two-hectare (5 acre) park: the orangery, terraces, box hedges, swimming pool, vineyard…

Amenities
Comfort : central heating – chimney.
Communication : Satellite TV – DVD reader – Hifi – Internet WIFI.
Domestic equipments: – Kitchen: fridge – freezer – stove – microwave – coffee machine – toaster – kettle – dishwasher.
– Laundry: washer – dryer – iron.
– Bathrooms: hair dryers.
– Family rooms: minibar – kettle – safe case.
Leisures : BBQ – swimming pool – table tennis – petanque games – board games – tennis rackets and balls (tennis in the village).

Services included
Household linen provided
Spare weekly.
Beds made on arrival (double or twin).

Optional services
Possibility to provide you house staff: housekeeper, cook (budget request).
Meals Service: shopping, preparation, table service, cleaning (budget request)
Wines of the chateau d’Agel available in the cellar of the castle (to be counted at the end of the stay).

Premium stay (Supplement asked for)
Bathrobes and beach towels.
Consumables provided during the stay (trash bags, home products, dish soap, laundry soap etc …).
Daily cleaning (3 hours).
Home meal in the evening of your arrival.

Looking for an authentic setting where your guests will enjoy an experience they’ll never forget ? We’d be delighted to welcome your group or party to the Château d’Agel, and to help you with whatever is needed to make your event a success: parties, receptions, dinners, concerts…
you’re planning a wedding, what could be more enjoyable and memorable than a reception set amid the history of the Château d’Agel. We’d be delighted to open our doors to you for the wedding reception of a lifetime. Receive your guests and when the festivities are over, let some of them sleep it off in our comfortable bedrooms. To help make your event a success, please feel free to call on the services of our recommended caterers, florists, musicians and technicians.… You have the possibility to sleep in the castle with your close relations (16 people) and we will provide you a selection of B&B and hotels near the castle..

You wish during your stay in the castle to discover the Cathare country, make a ride on horseback in the vineyard of the castle, taste gourmet meals, amazing wines of the Languedoc… We are at your disposal to create your own stay around the strong points of Château d’Agel surroundings. This heading suggests some possible topics: gift certificates, weekend oenological, discovery of Minervois and the Cathar country, horse rides …

How to get there

Coming by car
Enter by the gate of the church place , next to the fountain. Check the route on Google Maps
43°20’16.94’’ N
02°51’11.49’’ E
Rent a car on rentalcars

Book a taxi
“Alliance Taxi” in Bize, tel : +33 (0)4 68 40 70 69, +33 (0)6 32 98 68 25, email : alliance.taxi@orange.fr.
“Taxi Ralph” in Mailhac, tel : +33 (0)6 23 54 30 14

Nearest stations
Narbonne (25 km) : Check the route on Google Maps
Béziers (38 km) : Check the route on Google Maps
Reserve your train ticket on Voyages-SNCF.com

Airports
Béziers-Vias (55 km) : Destination: – Paris – London – Bristol – Bremen – Manchester – Edinburgh – Düsseldorf – Stockhol-Oslo, reserve your plane ticket and check the route on Google Maps
Carcassonne-Salvaza (55 km) : Destination: Billund – Eindhoven – Glasgow – Prestwick – Cork – Porto – Dublin – Brussels – Charleroi – East Midlands – Liverpool Bournemouth and London, reserve your plane ticket and check the route on google maps
Montpellier- Méditerranée (120 km) : Reserve your plane ticket on Air France and check the route on Google Maps,
Toulouse-Blagnac (150 km) : Reserve your plane ticket on Air France and check the route on Google Maps.

Shops

Agel : There are no shops in the village, except a post office. All shops (baker, butcher grocer …) regularly come into the village. On Friday evening, selling fruit and vegetables‘ au jardin de Valerie “and a monthly direct market producers.
Aigues-vives (3km) : you will find one bar/ restaurant, a bakery (opening every day 6:00 – 12:30, 16:00 – 19:00 except Wednesday, round to Agel Tuesday-Thursday-Saturday Sunday 8:30-9:00, tel 04 68 91 14 90), and a grocer.
Bize-Minervois (6 km) : you will find a bakery, a butcher, a post office, 2 grocers, a pharmacy, a tobacconist , a gas station, bars and restaurants.
Olonzac, St Marcel ou Capestang (15 km) : you will find supermarkets and various shops.
OLonzac (15 km): market on Tuesday morning
Saint-Chinian (15 km) : market Thursday and Sunday morning.
Narbonne (25 km) : market every morning, many hypermarkets and shops.

Leisure activities
Tennis : In the village..
Swimming : possible nearby in the river Cesse, or further afield there are seaside resorts at (Gruissan, private beach at Narbonne-plage La voile rouge, Les cabanes de Fleury…).
Golfs : golf Ste Rose (Narbonne 30 kms), golf de Saint Thomas (Beziers 45 kms), golf de Carcassonne (Carcassonne 50 kms), golf de Lamalou-les-bains (54 kms), golf de Mazamet (58 kms), golf du Cap d’Agde (64 kms), golf de Saint Cyprien (90 kms).
Rent bicycles : Mellow velos Paraza (16km), possible delivery.
Horses riding : Les Appaloosas du Pech (5 km).
Wind surf : Lac de Jouarres 15 km.
Paragliding, hang gliding : Ligue de vol libre Argeliers (10km)
Canoeing, Canyoning, rafting, hydro, climbing, caving, tree climbing, adventure parks: Canoe-Kayak(Roquebrun 33 kms), ( Cessenon 27 kms). Rock climbing Grimpe et Canyon, escalades en Minervois, massif de la Clape (Gruissan). Acromix Gruissan (canyon, adventure Park). tree climbing Beziers Aventures (adventure Park, canyoning 40 kms), Leucate Aventures , Acroroc (Saint Martin de l’Ançon 48 kms) tree climbing, climbing, via ferrata, hiking / biking, caving.
African Reserve Sigean : This wildflife park is located near the beaches between Perpignan and Narbonne
Australian park: 3 minutes from the medieval city of Carcassonne … Australian park (Kangourous, ostriches, local crafts …).
Thermal resorts : (Lamalou Les Bains) Hérault (54km), (Avene Les Bains) Hérault (78 km), (Alet Les Bains) Aude (83 km), (Balaruc Les Bains) Hérault (85 km), (Rennes Les Bains) Aude (94 km).
Casinos : Valras-plage (47 kms), Port-la-nouvelle (50 kms), Lamalou-les-bains (54 kms), Cap d’Agde (64 kms).

Towns and cities
Béziers (40km) : St Nazaire cathedral, medieval streets, the ancient amphitheater.
Narbonne (25 km) : the former Archbishops palace, the donjon Gilles Aycellin and archaeological museum and fine arts.
Cité cathare de Minerve (10 km) : Natural bridges, canyons, olmens and ramparts.
Cité de Carcassonne (50 km) : the city, the ramparts, the Comtal castle, St Nazaire church, St Nazaire Tower ….
Site D’Ensérune (Nissan 25 km) : Gallic village.

Castles
Lastours (46 kms) (Lastours).
Villerouge Termenes (55 kms) (Villerouge).
Arques (85 kms) (Arques).
Cucugnan Queribus (85 kms) (Queribus).
Duilhac Peyrepertuse (90 kms) (Peyrepertuse).

Abbeys
Abbaye de Fontfroide (36 km) : beautiful Cistercian abbey. (abbaye de Fontfroide).
Abbaye de Caunes-Minervois (37 km) : Benedictine abbey in the heart of a XV-XVIII village.
Abbaye de Lagrasse (45 km) : Abbey in the heart of a medieval village restored.

The caves and natural sites
Gouffre giant Cabrespine (43 kms): Green crystals of aragonite and calcite reaching here, shapes and dimensions itself, extraordinary.
Grotte de Clamouse (87 kms) : This is one of the best known caves. Its underground network, vast stretches nearly 12 km and a height of 600 m.
Grottes des Demoiselles (122 kms) : Cave carved into the cliff Thaurac.