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Le Pavillon at Château de Tocqueville 
42, rue Alexis de Tocqueville
50330 TOCQUEVILLE
Count and Countess de Tocqueville
Email: inquiry@au-chateau.com

 PLEASE MENTION TOCQUEVILLE IN THE SUBJECT LINE

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Languages:  English
Payments using PayPal, cash or bank transfers, please.

Département: Manche (50)

Special Features: 

  • This historic property is rented in its entirety by the week or by the night.

Tocqueville



 
  With great pleasure we present the Pavillon at Château de Tocqueville in Normandy.  The château is rich in family history and formerly the country home of Alexis de Tocqueville, the highly-acclaimed political thinker, historian and 19th-century author, perhaps best known for his extraordinary work, Democracy in America (1835) following his travels in America.  His English wife, Mary, designed an English garden incorporating the pond that is still there today for everyone's enjoyment.  The château is a pleasant combination of architectural styles from the 16th, 18th and 19th centuries and is a national landmark listed among France's Patrimoine Nationale.  When de Tocqueville inherited the property from his father in 1836, he and his wife decided to renovate the property and park.  Later, his grandson rebuilt the first main tower, which has evolved into today's Pavillon.

Other history was made near Château de Tocqueville, when in 1120 in the English Channel off Barfleur the Blanche Nef shipwrecked on its maiden voyage, and it took with it the heir to the British throne and one hundred fifty members of Norman England's most prominent families.  This white ship was praised as being ahead of the technology of the times, but it is said that it was moving far too fast and unnecessarily struck an object in the Channel. Two hundred years later, in 1346, saw the landing of Edward III of England's troops near Saint-Vaast-la-Hougue marking the start of the Hundred Years War.   The family and estate survived the French Revolution unscathed, as they had an excellent relationship with local villagers. The only damage was to the dovecote roof which was removed as it was a sign of the power of the aristocracy.

And, during World War II, despite the château's proximity to the war zone, it had the good fortune to be spared any serious damage, and some restoration was needed following the war.  Two German blockhouses remain in the park and mark a part of what was known as the Atlantic Wall.  This coastline was heavily fortified, and on D-Day the entire coastline was covered with troops of the 82nd and 101st US Airborne Divisions to surprise the enemy.  Later that day the US 4th Infantry Division stormed ashore on Utah beach to begin the liberation of Europe.  Château de Tocqueville can boast that Ernest Hemingway, who was a correspondent arriving with American troops a few days after D-Day, stayed at the château. 

Today, the château is the private home of the great-great-great-grand nephew of Alexis de Tocqueville and his wife, Count Jean-Guillaume  and Countess Stéphanie de Tocqueville d’Hérouville, and their children. The Count de Tocqueville, is a member of the New York bar and practices law in Paris and is also a founding member of United Way in France.  Countess Stéphanie de Tocqueville heads the association that awards the International Prize for political literature, the Prix de Alexis de Tocqueville, once every two years.  Since the prize's inception in 1979, it has been awarded at the Château to a person who has demonstrated outstanding humanistic qualities and attachment to public liberties and seeks to perpetuate Alexis de Tocqueville’s ideals.  An outstanding jury, headed by former French President Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, selects the recipients.

The Count and Countess have recently renovated the Pavillon to accommodate guests, using quality period family furnishings to make each and every room inviting and comfortable while maintaining the elegance of this historic home.  On three floors and offering five spacious en suite bedrooms, modern conveniences in the Pavillon have not been overlooked.  An elevator (lift) permits easy access to all three floors of the Pavillon, while the original circular stone stairway can still be used.  The modern, equipped kitchen, elegant dining area, and sophisticated salon make a week or longer at the Pavillon absolutely delightful.  Especially interesting is the installation of state-of-the-art geothermal heating.  Guests will appreciate the fine appliances, including a washing machine and dishwasher, as well as the convenience of WiFi, Internet, and satellite television.

A stay at the Pavillon of Château de Tocqueville on Normandy's Cotentin Peninsula will prove to be beyond your highest expectations.  Walk the park in the footsteps of Alexis de Tocqueville who wrote to his wife, "I can never imagine it as anything other than a refuge of peace and happiness...I have never been as happy for as long, anywhere else." 

* * *  Book this lovely château by contacting au Château and mention 'Tocqueville' in the subject line.  * * *

 

Rooms:   Five spacious bedrooms, four with king-size beds, one with two singles, and all with en suite bathrooms.
Self-catering weekly rental rates 2021:  January 3 to March 26, and April 4 to May 28, and October 1 to December 24
€ 600 per night with a two-night minimum May 29 to June 26 and August 29 to September 30 € 650 per night with a two-night minimum and March 27 to April 3, and June 27 to August 28 € 700 per night with a two-night minimum.  When the daily rate is €600, the Low Season weekly rate is €3900. When the daily rate is €650, the Mid-Season weekly rate is €4200, and when the daily rate is €700, the High Season weekly rate is €4500.  Sheets and linens provided.  Daily maid service included. Central geothermal heating.  All charges included.  The Pavillon is not rented for less than 2 nights. 
Rates for 2022: 
add €50 to each daily rate and €300 to each weekly rate except high season when €400 is added to the weekly rate.  Low, Mid and High season dates change in 2022:  High is January 1 and 2, June 26 to August 27 and December 24 to January 1, 2023.  Mid-Season is May 2 to June 25 and August 28 to October 2.  Low Season is January 3 to May 1, and October 3 to December 23.

Breakfast when renting can be offered if requested in advance for € 15 per person.
Bed & Breakfast available when the Pavillon is not rented.  €200 per room November through March.
Deposit:  A 30% deposit is required at the time of booking a reservation.  Balance due six weeks prior to start date.
Dinner: is not offered as this is a self-catering property, but a chef can be arranged on request. Fine restaurants are not far in Barfleur and Saint-Vaast-la-Hougue.
No dogs permitted.
Satellite television and DVD are available.  Telephone, Internet, WiFi.  Washing machine and dishwasher in the kitchen.
Non-smoking, please.

Open all year.
On site:  Pavillon has an elevator (lift), lovely park, lake, gardens, and tennis court in the process of being renovated.
Vicinity:  Bayeux (tapestry and cathedral), Caen (Memorial Museum), D-Day Landing Beaches (especially close to Utah Beach), Omaha Beach, Arromanches, Sainte Mère-Eglise (first landing site of American paratroopers in WWII), Cherbourg, Villedieu-les-Pôeles (copper center of Normandy),  Le Mont St-Michel abbey, Channel Islands, Valognes (stunning architecture with manors and châteaux known as Normandy's 'Little Versailles"), Barfleur, Carentan, St-Lô, American Cemetery at Colleville-sur-Mer near Omaha Beach, charming town of Coutances with monumental cathedral.

  Directions:

From Paris Gare St-Lazare by to Caen, 2 hours and another 1 15 minutes to Cherbourg.

From Paris  by auto - take the A13 autoroute direction Rouen and Caen.  After Caen take the N13 direction Cherbourg.  Stay on it until Valognes, turning onto the D902 direction Quettehou to Barfleur.  Turn left onto the D901 to Tocqueville.  About 700 meters before the village look for a white marker on your left and you have arrived.

From Cherbourg by auto - head east direction St Pierre-Eglise and Barfleur.  Drive through the village of Tocqueville and at 700 meters out of town look for the white marker on your right, and you have arrived.

Airport:   Cherbourg (8 kms) or Caen (120 kms)
Railway Station: Valognes or Cherbourg

FranceMichelin Map to Château

CLICK ON PHOTOS BELOW TO ENLARGE & READ MORE!
 
The Salon Modern Kitchen Château's round tower Chambre Ming The park at Château de Tocqueville
Exquisite Salon Cuisine and Dining The Château & Pavillon Elegant Bedrooms The Park