Chateau de Courtomer, French chateau to rent in Normandy

The little town of Courtomer…two boulangeries (one with a wood-fired brick oven),  a wine cave (where you can also buy the local calvados and cider for which Normandy is famous), an excellent butcher and charcutier, a mercerie (here the town’s hospitable mayor presides over sewing supplies), a pharmacie, a convenience store, a bank and a bar…is a brisk 10-minute walk from the chateau.
If you arrive on a Sunday, you’ll be able to buy locally-produced camembert and foie gras, fresh vegetables and locally-raised meat and poultry. You’ll also note the 19th-century church, built when the parishes of St-Omer and Courtomer became one--a very pretty example of traditional architecture, with its stained windows of the saints of France and ornately carved altars. On hallowed ground outside the church is the obligatory war monument to the France’s lost generation of 1914-1918; outside the mairie is artillery from the Battle of Normandy of 1945.

A 15-minute drive away is the charming cathedral town of Seés, one of the oldest diocese in France. The twin towers of its 13th-century gothic cathedral, lit from within at night, are a luminous beacon for miles around (and not just for the faithful; it has a good restaurant, “Au Normandie”). Seés’ first bishop, Saint Latuin, arrived in the 4th century.
Legend has it that the Roman governor’s wife went mad for unrequited love of the saint, and not far away in the commune of Belfonds is a fountain whose water he transformed into a healing spring. A fascinating small museum of religious art and artifacts from Normandy is open during the summer. Today, Seés is a bustling small town with lively Saturday market. 

 .

.

Saint Therese pilgrimage:

Birthplace of Saint Therese and home of her parents, Blessed Louis  and Zelie Martin.  The family home and the church of Notre-Dame are open to the public.  Alencon is just south of Sees and just a half hour's drive from the chateau. 

Home of St. Therese from age four until her death in 1897.  The "Little FLower" is know for her "little ways" of serving God and man. The Basilica of St. Therese, St. Peter's Cathedral, Jardin l'Eveche Cour Matigoon, Carmel Chapel and St. Therese's family home, Les Buissonnets are all worth visiting. Lisieux is 55 miles north of Alencon and just 42 miles north of Courtomer.

.

Information to plan your pilgimage:  www.therese-de-lisieux.cef.fr

Alencon Tourism: www.ville-alencon.fr

Lisieux Tourism: www.ville-lisieux.fr

 

Bayeux

This lovely town combines the roots of Norman history with proximity to the D-Day beaches of World War II. The Bayeux Museum displays one of oldest and certainly most famous embroidered “tapestries” (it is actually a cloth, not a woven tapestry) in the world. The 11th-century tapestry depicts the Norman conquest of England in 1066 and is said to have been embroidered by William the Conqueror’s Anglo-Saxon queen, Mathilda. The soaring cathedral, dating from the same epoch, was built by William’s half-brother, bishop Odo.
Visit the Bayeux tourism page.

WW2 History

Numerous D-day beaches, museums and memorial sights are located along the Normandy coast, about 100km to the north of Courtomer.
Not just for history enthusiasts, people also visit the seaside and coastal towns of Normandy for the sandy beaches and excellent seafood.
You can find the best oysters in Courseulles!

Mont St Michel

Monastery and fortress, Mont Saint Michel rises from the sea just off the coast of Normandy:  “like a fantastical manor, like a palace in a dream, eerily strange and beautiful, ” wrote Guy de Maupassant. You can walk to Saint-Michel at low tide. The abbey was founded in 708, one of the first sites consecrated to the Archangel Michael. The abbey is a textbook example of medieval architecture and its gardens, where the intrepid monks cultivated vegetables for their austere meals, have recently been restored. You’ll eat richer fare in one of the harbor town’s many restaurants. Be sure to visit the boutique of the Mère Poulard, known to generations of French schoolchildren for her buttery cookies.

Visit the Mont St Michel tourism page 

Paris

The ultimate day trip from the Chateau is of course Paris. Only 1 ½ hours on the train you can spend the day in Paris exploring the fast-paced City of Light and return back to the quiet French countryside for a locally prepared dinner and restful night’s sleep.