Property Details

LE CHAT CHOCOLAT - 14, Chemin d'Hérigny, 76440 Saumonty-la-Poterie, Forges-les-Eaux, Seine Maritime, Haute Normandie, France.

Contact: Mel & Nikki Anthony

Tel/Fax: (France) [0033] (0)2 35 09 16 20
Tel/Fax: (England) [0044] (0)207 435 2403

Email: le-chat-chocolat @dsl.pipex.com

Website: http://www.le-chat-chocolat-b-and-b.com

We invite you to stay as our paying Bed and Breakfast guests in our restored, traditional Normandy farmhouse, offering character and atmosphere combined with modern comforts & facilities. We offer versatile, affordable chambres d'hôtes accommodation in the Pays de Bray, Upper Normandy, France, just outside Forges-les-Eaux. We are about 150 metres off the D915 road, a section of the direct Paris to Dieppe route.

The house and its surrounding complex of barns and stables are full of character features including colombage, torchis and exposed beams.

At Le Chat Chocolat you will receive a warm, friendly and attentive welcome from Mel & Nikki Anthony, a French-speaking English couple - and from Saba, their Brown Burmese cat - Le Chat Chocolat himself!

Gourmet quality (but unpretentious and reasonably-priced) French, International and Oriental evening meals are available on a Table d'Hôtes basis.

Our enchanting former farmhouse, nestles into the lush, green rolling countryside of the Seine Maritime region of France, on the dge of an historical pottery-making village (Saumont-la-Poterie)just outside the delightful market town of Forges-les-Eaux with its thermal spa, casino and numerous tourist attractions.

Le Chat Chocolat is an easy 2 hour drive from Calais (about ½ hour less from Boulogne), and makes an ideal stopover point for those travelling down to the south and south-west of France (also convenient for travellers entering France via Dieppe, Caen or Cherbourg). You will also find us ideal for holidays, a base for house-hunting trips, a small seminar venue for residential courses, business trips, long or short breaks for any purpose, etc.

We offer a choice of 4 chic, luxury and reasonably-priced yet very comfortable ensuite twin, double, or king-size four-poster guest bedrooms, two of which are on the ground floor and "lessened-mobility" friendly. An additional single bed (or beds) may be possible by arrangement.

Le Chat Chocolat's own amenities and facilities which we share with our visitors include an American-style pool/snooker table, covered barbecue patio, books, board games, karaoke equipment, seasonal log fires, television & video players, comfortable lounge, boules/pétanque, lawn quoits, occasional cabaret nights - and more!

We make no apology for operating a non-smoking environment, which our visitors are enjoined to respect for the benefit of all.

Le Chat Chocolat offers a haven of peace and quiet in glorious rural (yet not remote) surroundings, and offers the opportunity to breathe clean country air - yet is within easy reach of superlative amenities.

Quiet, well-behaved children are usually welcome, as are quiet, well-behaved pets - but please check with us first.

Please enquire about the special 1 week/weekend breaks we can offer, some with courses or activities, and some for just relaxing and de-stressing. We'll even try to tailor a stay to suit your own choice of course or activity.

Le Chat Chocolat is a haven of refuge - "An Affordable Experience - Not Your Average B & B".

Local Area Details

Wonderfully typically French, Forges-les-Eaux is a favourite summer vacation and year-round weekend-break destination for many Parisians (Paris is only about 2 hours away by car (less by train)and offers many amenities, including an excellent selection of restaurants, cafés, brasseries and bars. There are also several supermarkets and numerous interesting and individual shops catering not only for tourists but also for all everyday needs. There is a market twice a week and the area attracts tourists due to its many facilities and amenities, which include a thermal spa, casino, museums, places of historical and natural interest, architecture, undulating landscape and glorious countryside, mature forests and stunningly-beautiful leisure lakes.

Rouen and Dieppe, both offering superb shopping, cultural events, choice of restaurants, interesting architecture and much more to see and do, are about 40 minutes drive away. The latter offers the coastline, whilst the former is not far from some beautiful riverside towns and villages along the winding banks of the Seine.

The region between Forges-les-Eaux and Neufchâtel-en-Bray is an area of outstanding natural beauty, best appreciated from the newly-opened "Green Way", a tourist trail following the scenic itinerary of the abandoned local railway line through the breathtaking countryside. This is ideally explored on foot, by bicycle, or on horseback.

The area offers numerous facilities, activities and attractions to suit all ages and inclinations, including:

Angling ~ Antiques & Bric-à-Brac ~ Archery ~ Arts & Crafts ~ Canoeing & Kayaking ~ Club Med Spa & Beauty Treatments ~ Concerts ~ Crazy Golf ~ Cross-Counbtry Motor-Cycle Scrambling ~ Cultural Events ~ Cycling ~ Fitness Trails ~ Gambling/Casino ~ Golf ~ Hang-Gliding ~ Horse-Racing ~ Horse-Riding ~ Hot-Air Ballooning ~ Leisure & Amusement Parks ~ Local Events Programme ~ Local Walking Tour ~ Markets ~ Movies ~ Night Clubs ~ Painting, Pottery & Sculpture ~ Picnicking ~ Rambling ~ Running ~ Sightseeing (including Architecture, Churches, Châteaux, Historical & Natural Sites, Parks & Gardens, Scenery, Villages, etc.) ~ Swimming ~ Tastes of the Region (including Calvados, Cider, Farm produce from fois gras to snails, etc.) ~ Tennis ~ Theatres.

The weather is similar to that of e.g. Devon & Cornwall, can be quite hot and sunny in summer, and cool & wet (but not usually very harsh)in winter - but the atmosphere is very definitely that of France at her very best.

Additional Information

About Local Restaurants

Many restaurants in: Nimes = 10 kms Uzes = 15 kms Avignon = 20 kms Montpellier = 55 kms Beache = 55 kms

About Airport Information

Airports: Nimes = 10 kms Montpellier = 55 kms Marseille = 110 kms

About Family Activities

the farmhouse is in countryside and several courses of march or footing and several courses of bicycle or BAL are around the house many festivals and exhibitions Theater festival d'Avignon Music festival Montpellier Radio France Opéra festival d'Orange Photo festival d'Arles Painting museum Modern Art Nîmes Music festival d'Aix en Provence Piano festival Roque d'Anthéron Painting museum Calvet d'Avignon Painting museum Fabre de Montpellier Dance festival Montpellier

About The Gay Scene

Gay Scene in Nimes = 10 kms Avignon = 20 kms Montpellier = 55 kms Beache of Espiguette = 55 kms

About Golfing

Many Golfs: Nimes Campagne 18 trous 14 kms 15 minutes Uzes 9 trous 25 kms 25 minutes Nimes Vacquerolles 18 trous 25 kms 30 minutes Montpellier Massane 18 trous 52 kms 40 minutes Grand Avignon (Vedène) 18 trous 46 kms 40 minutes Pont-Royal 18 trous 43 kms 40 minutes La Grande Motte 18 trous 55 kms 45 minutes Montpellier Fontcaude 18 trous 70 kms 45 minutes Les Baux de Provence 9 trous 45 kms 45 minutes Servanes 18 trous 70 kms 55 minutes Montpellier Coulondres 18 trous 72 kms 55 minutes Provence (Saumane) 18 trous 72 kms 60 minutes

About Beaches

Beaches = Le Grau du Roi - L'Espiguette = 55 kms

About Bars

many Bars in Nimes = 10 kms Avignon = 20 kms Arles = 20 kms

About Nightlife

Nightlife in Nimes = 10 kms Avignon = 20 kms Arles = 20 kms Montpellier = 55 kms

About Walking

the farmhouse is in countryside and several courses of march or footing and several courses of bicycle or BAL are around the house

About History

Your first tour will be to Nimes where you can visit the wonderful amphitheatre (end of 1st century BC) and Square House (1st century BC). Hans Christian Andersen (1805-1875) The story of my Life Your second tour will be to Avignon to see its Palais des Papes in which 7 Popes followed one another in 14 th century. To get there you will go through Tarascon and discover its Château du Roi René and farther away the abbey of Frigolet praised by Alphonse Daudet in " les lettres de Mon Moulin" and "élixir du Père Gaucher". This Mill of Daudet which you can see again at Fonvieille near the Baux en Provence a magnificent place on a calcareous rock. The third tour will be to Arles : the charming city of Arles , on the Grand Rhône River in Provence , rose to prominence in 49-46 BC when a triumphal Julius Caesar captured and despoiled nearby Marseille. It soon became the region's commercial hub and an important Roman provincial centre, with enormous public spaces that are still in use today. Vincent Van Gogh settled here in the late 19th century, fashioning hundreds of drawings and paintings when he took a break from pestering his ear. On hot summer days you can watch the waves of heat rising from the plains, just as Van Gogh did a century ago; olive groves and vineyards - often featured in his work - still cover the surrounding limestone hills. Arles is also noted for its houses with striking red barrel-tiled roofs and shady, twisting alleys too narrow to swing a cat in (trust us). Arles' attractions include the Les Arènes, an enormous Roman ampitheatre built towards the end of the 1st century AD. Tens of thousands of men and animals were sacrificed here to that most noble of pursuits - sport. Chariot races and hand-to-hand battles were staged with slaughter emphasised over tactics, but the public seemed happy. The Arènes was later transformed into a fortress, then a residential area, but its sanguinary origins have been reawakened in the full houses drawn to bullfights. Another of the city's Roman relics is the Théâtre Antique, which provides an ideal setting for open-air dance, film and music festivals in the summer. After to admire its cathedral Saint Trophime, its cloister and its tympanum which is a jewel of roman architecture. Central Arles is a relaxed place of intimate squares, terraced brasseries perfect for sipping pastis, wine and men with long pomaded moustaches playing pétanque. The fourth will take you to the Méditerranean Sea either to the Saintes Marie de la mer if you go across the étang du Vaccarès in the reserve of the Grande Camargue, or else to the Grau du Roi if you go through Aigues Mortes from which King Saint Louis embarked for the Crusades. The fifth will be to Uzès to visit its Duché and above all its picturesque market on Saturday mornings. On your way you must stop and have a look at the Pont du Gard to admire this magnificent Roman work. Another day, you'll go to Orange whose Roman theatre is one of the most beautiful in the world. Or maybe to Saint-Rémy de Provence. Or maybe to, or to…...but to do that you will have to come back.

Property Features

* Close to a golf course
* Pets are allowed

Contact Information

Name:	Mel & Nikki Anthony
Telephone:	+44-207435-2403
Alt Telephone:	+33-02350 -91620
Fax:	Same--
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