A magnificent treehouse in the heart of wine country near Bordeaux. Dine overlooking the vines...

Head south, like the migratory palombes which give this luxurious perch its name. A magnificent treehouse has newly grown up in the woods of Château Lestange, a traditional French manor house near Bordeaux. La Palombière is made of red cedar and Douglas fir, decked with fresh flowers, sumptuous linen and touches of antiquity (the doorknobs are borrowed from the historic château), but kitted out with a wood-burner and a super shower for supreme comfort. A canopy bed with sparkling fairy lights (and the option of champagne in the fridge bar) make it a wonderful place for couples, but discover the trapdoor up to the mezzanine level and you might wish you'd brought the kids (and their sleeping bags). Upstairs, they'll find giant beanbags, a TV to practise their French, and the best views of all.

You’ll be excellently taken care of by Eric and Rachel, waking to breakfast laid on the treehouse terrace. (From October to April, it’s served in the château itself.) There’s no kitchen so you’ll just have to wander down to the river, where Le Robinson serves the best local produce, including fish and seafood, local game, poultry, terrines and cheeses, more than a match for the fine wines of the region, and all beautifully prepared. Your evening meal can even be ordered in advance and whisked up to your leafy dining room to enjoy under the stars.

Despite being wonderfully close to the historic city of Bordeaux and its transport links, you are in the heart of wine country here, surrounded by tumbling hillside villages and beautiful landscapes. Make the most of it – and don’t forget to bring a couple of bottles back home!

• Esentials
• Getting there
• Eating & Drinking
• Things to do
• Booking terms
• Meet your hosts

The essentials

The important stuff

• Check-in is 3pm
• Check-out is before noon
• There is no kitchen in the treehouse, so either eat further afield or have dinner delivered to the verandah of the treehouse from a local restaurant
• Giant bean bag futons are provided, but children will need sleeping bags

Sleeping arrangements

Kids & Pets

Cooking

• There is no kitchen in the treehouse, so either eat further afield or have dinner delivered to the verandah of the treehouse from a local restaurant
• Tea and coffee are provided
• Wine glasses + a fridge for chilling bottles
• A delivery menu is available from the excellent local restaurant, Le Robinson
• Continental breakfast is included, served on the treehouse verandah April-Oct and from Oct-April in the main dining room of the château

Washing

• Open one door for a discreet loo & small basin; the other door leads to a luxurious shower room with 'rain shower' and basin, with toiletries provided.

Heating, lighting & bedding

• All linen and towels provided

Entertainment

• Small library of books
• A TV-free break is your choice: the upstairs mezzanine has giant bean bags and a wall-mounted television with French channels
• The twelve-hectare estate to ramble round
• Plans are afoot to offer spa treatments - ask on booking

Getting there

Château Lestange, 33360 Quinsac, Aquitaine, France

La Palombière is easily accessible by car, train, ferry or plane, only a few minutes' drive from the transport hub of Bordeaux.

By ferry

LD Lines go from Portsmouth to Le Havre and Brittany Ferries from Portsmouth to St Malo (closest), Caen or Cherbourg.

By train

Take the Eurostar from London St Pancras to Paris. The TGV from Paris to Bordeaux takes 3 hours. (Bear in mind you can book through journeys from your local UK station to Bordeaux.) From Bordeaux station to Quinsac, taxis take around 15-20 minutes.

By plane

Bordeaux airport is very close, around 20 minutes away by car or taxi.

By car

If you're arriving by train or air, car hire is available in Bordeaux.

If you're taking the car ferry (above) or Eurotunnel, head for Bordeaux. From Bordeaux, take ring-road ('rocade') exit No. 22a for Latresne Cadillac on the D10. At the Quinsac roundabout, take the sign for the village centre, 'Centre Bourg.' The château is situated about 200m further on the left, before you reach the village.The entrance is through a large gate underneath a porch set into the wall. Guest parking is to the left, then round to the right, following the signs.

Eating & drinking

Breakfast is served on the wooden balcony just outside, or in the main dining room of the château itself in winter. Tea and coffee are provided, but there are no kitchen facilities in the treehouse, so you'll have to eat out at one of the many lovely local restaurants. A wine cellar in a treehouse may sound strange, but your host, Eric, is a true connoisseur and would be pleased to arrange fine local wines and chilled champagne to await your arrival, according to your taste and budget.

Le Robinson A few kilometres down the road, Le Robinson serves French gastronomy at its finest on the banks of the River Garonne. Outside tables are in high demand in the summer, and provide the perfect setting for a romantic dinner or a special occasion. Starters may be roast quail, foie gras, or warm camembert, mains include lobster, fine steaks, and seasonal specialities, followed by indulgent puddings, and the wine list is appropriately stellar. If you can't tear yourselves away from your treetop hideaway, chose dinner from the restaurant menu in advance and it can be served on the balcony overlooking the vineyard.

Things to do

Outdoors and active

The extensive parkland of Château Lestange is yours to explore: walk through a forest under century-old oaks, hornbeams, and laurels, following the cool, shady paths. Further afield, the l'Entre-deux-Mers region is between the two great rivers of the Garonne and the Dordogne. If even that's too strenuous, meditate in a green space surrounded by 45 grand plane trees, originally planted by the family as a quiet place for reflection after mass in the estate's chapel.

Just an hour away, the blue waters of the Bassin d'Arcachon will give you a complete change of scene. Explore the small fishing villages that surround it and lounge on the pale dunes. Activities abound, from kayaking, sailing, fishing to oyster-eating!

Art and culture

You are perfectly positioned to visit two UNESCO world heritage sites: Bordeaux with its splendid 18th century quayside, and Saint-Emilion, the quaint town tumbling down a hillside surrounded by famous wine-producing estates. Wine-tasting tours are a must. If you drink more white than red, Sainte Croix du Mont and its famous white wines is a short trip from the château. Cross the Garonne river and you can discover the Graves region with its unique dry white wines.

Artistic and cultural events are regularly organised, so do check the calendar for news on what's on.

Meet your hosts

The estate

Commanding a view over the broad Garonne river, the château was built in 1645. It inherited the site of a post-house and pilgrims' refuge en route to the famous Santiago de Compostela in Spain, where dusty travellers would rest in the peaceful, shady woods nearby. Visitors have been welcomed here for even longer: a freshwater well existed here as early as 1534, next to the old Roman road. Later, the aristocracy of Bordeaux built beautiful villas in the area, and fled here en masse to escape the stifling summer heat of the Bordeaux marshes.

In 1834, the Charmet-Thomas family returned from ‘L'île Bourbon’ – now the French department of La Réunion - and brought the warmth of the Tropics into this magnificent manor house, to transform it into their family home. The paintings of three-masted galleons which hang above the stairs hint at a love of adventure in far-off lands, and the louvred fanlights echo the shade much sought after in the Tropics. The new treehouse project, and the rooms and gîtes featured in the Alastair Sawday's guides, share the spirit of the château itself: beauty and calmness reigns over the whole of Lestange, making it somewhere guests love to stay and return to. Today the estate covers twelve hectares, five of which are planted with Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Malbec grapes. It's an exciting time for the vineyard: gradually converting to organic farming, the estate is also steadily being replanted with grapes. One hectare of new Merlot is springing up already, and the grape varieties are just being chosen for a new, high quality ‘terroir’ white wine.

The wine

Château Lestange produces a red AOC Premières Côtes de Bordeaux. The wine is currently produced and marketed by the famous Caves de Quinsac (very close and worth a visit) but soon the wine of the château will once again be produced at home. Traditionally the 'terroir' (a French word meaning the local conditions which lend a unique quality to the wine) is legendary here. In 1874 the edition of Féret, bible of Bordeaux wines, wrote "the Lestange Domaine covers 33 hectares, 12 of which are situated on a hillside with clay-limestone soil and clay-gravel soil on rock and dedicated to vines. This vineyard is planted exclusively with Malbec, Merlot and Verdot and produces a much sought-after wine, regarded as one of the best in the area."

Wildlife and environmental policy

The treehouse is discreetly hidden in the trees of the ancient wood, overlooking the vineyard, which itself is in the process of converting to organic farming. The treehouse is fully plumbed in, however all waste and water goes into a specially-designed biofiltration tank buried at the foot of the treehouse. The sustainable red cedar and Douglas fir used in the construction of the treehouse are sourced from France, and have been treated in an eco-friendly way.