A flat on the ground floor of a chateau with its garden and pool,
overlooking the Popes' Palace in Villeneuve-lès-Avignon
overlooking the Popes' Palace in Villeneuve-lès-Avignon
Avignon,
GARD
languedoc-roussillon
84000
FR
Location
On the heights of Villeneuve-les-Avignon, with a fabulous view over the entire city of Avignon, the international theatre capital and a major tourist attraction, famous for its papal city, surrounded by ramparts and classified as a UNESCO World Heritage site.
In an area studded with trees, renowned for its calm away from the urban bustle, overlooking a meander of the Rhône and opening up a view of the Mont Ventoux and the Luberon and Alpilles hills.
A quarter of an hour from the TGV station, an hour from the airports of Marseille, Nîmes and Montpellier, benefiting from the extensive public transport network of the Greater Avignon Community of Municipal Authorities. Five minutes from the shops, ten minutes from the main secondary schools and local health centres, and the historic centre of Avignon.
Description
Built during the French Third Republic by a rich industrialist from Avignon for his family, this manor house, which is called the "château", stands exactly opposite the Palace of the Popes. Its exterior and interior architecture typifies the "eclectic" style, inspired by both the Anglo-Norman neo-Tudor style and the Italianate style of the grand villas of the Riviera. Located at the top of what was once its park, covering nearly 5 hectares planted with centuries-old trees of various species, the château is now surrounded by various houses integrated into a densely wooded area part of the same secure co-ownership property. From a stately gate, wrought in the “Rothschild” style, access is via a long winding road, lined with large trees, maintained by the co-ownership property. On the east side, the château facade features two-coloured mixed cladding with alternating coursed rose brickwork and dressed stone. Resolutely asymmetrical, the facade is enriched with recesses, colonnades, "reigning transoms" between the windows, archivolts and bulb-shaped balusters, spread over three levels forming a true encyclopaedia of architectural decorations, such as the 19th century loved to produce and which the 20th century described as "kitsch". On the ground floor, a four-columned portico with Ionic-inspired scrolls rises from a forecourt supporting a terrace linked to the garden by a wide stone staircase. At the top, a loggia is surmounted by an acroterion in the form of an upright acanthus leaf and a turret with a four-sided slate roof. The château is divided into six flats. The flat for sale occupies the entire ground floor with its own private garden, which is accessed separately from the rest of the property through the historic entrance to the château, a "fin de siècle" veranda designed during the great era of ironwork.
The flat
It extends over the whole of the ground floor, in what used to be the château's reception rooms. Once past the glass conservatory at the end of a plane tree alley, access is via a panelled hallway and a wide marble staircase. A partition door with a transom of geometrically decorated stained glass panels from the 1900s opens into the proper flat, which comprises a library, a formal reception room, two large adjoining bedrooms, one of which features a grisaille decor, and, on the split-level, a vast kitchen.
The ground floor
The hallway leads to the main sitting room of impressive dimensions. The decor has remained in the same spirit as it was originally conceived. A painted wooden coffered ceiling tops the room. The window frames feature elaborate woodwork and the walls are panelled. The living room boasts an carved oak fireplace and opens out onto the terrace and the garden with a view of the Papal city. The sitting room serves the other three rooms; a wooden staircase with a balustrade climbs to the mezzanine and the kitchen. On one side, two double glass doors open into a room that is also panelled. The walls are divided into several sections including grisaille paintings of romantic scenes and decorative elements with baroque echoes such as shells and flower garlands. The ceiling, marked by an arched cornice, is decorated with stucco reliefs; a marble fireplace with inlay in the "pietra dura" style is located between the two double doors. Opposite, a second room also features wood panelling and a wooden fireplace. These two rooms open each onto a terrace overlooking the garden and the town of Avignon to the east. A third room opens onto a side part of the garden.
The intermediate level
At the back of the living room, a staircase with a dozen steps leads to a mezzanine, separated by a double glass door from an extensive kitchen and an adjacent laundry room.
The garage
This large space is accessible from the rear of the château, through a separate entrance that probably used to be part of the former kitchens.
The basement
Access is through the common areas, from the rear of the château.
The garden
With uninterrupted views of the Palais des Papes, the Lubéron and the Alpilles, the garden is laid out in a series of beds surrounding the conservatory from south-east to north-east, stretching along the terraces. It is planted with several fruit trees, including a large fig tree, a cherry tree and an olive tree. Two large Lebanese cedars tower over the garden to the north, offering protection from the mistral wind. A small above-ground swimming pool, built into the old stone pool, is located on one side of the house.
Our opinion
The flat, unique in the extravagance of its perfectly preserved decorations and the size of its rooms, immediately evokes another era: that of the splendour assured by the bold financial health of the triumphant industrial era. A time of extravagance, when no staircase was monumental enough and no salon too vast for waltzes and crinolines to reign supreme.
Today, with its unobstructed view of Avignon and the surrounding mountains, the charm of the place has remained intact in a co-ownership property that has preserved the calm of a centuries-old park within sight of the bustling Cité des Papes. A rare flat that unexpectedly reconciles the advantages of the countryside and the city.
1 371 500 €
Fees at the Vendor’s expense
Reference 697666
| Land registry surface area | 834 m2 |
| Number of rooms | 4 |
| Ceiling height | 4.5 |
| Reception area | 87.5 m2 |
| Number of bedrooms | 3 |
| Surface Cellar | 16 m2 |
| Surface Garage 1 | 28 m2 |
| Surface Garden | 834 m2 |
| Surface Terrace | 62.5 m2 |
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NB: The above information is not only the result of our visit to the property; it is also based on information provided by the current owner. It is by no means comprehensive or strictly accurate especially where surface areas and construction dates are concerned. We cannot, therefore, be held liable for any misrepresentation.
