Château de La Douve d’Armaillé

The Château de la Douve d’Armaillé is located in Segré, in the heart of the Anjou Bleu region, between Nantes, Rennes, and Angers. Come experience the “charm of Anjou” in this setting that has retained the charm of the Romantic era. Here, you can celebrate a wedding, a birthday, or simply gather your family or friends for a week-long vacation or a weekend getaway. You’ll have exclusive use of the château and will stay there alone with your guests. The château is spacious and can comfortably accommodate 36 people in 18 bedrooms, and host 120 people in its reception rooms.

The Château de La Douve d’Armaillé, surrounded by its 14-hectare park, towers proudly over the Verzée River. Built in the Neo-Louis XIII style, the château features a quadrangular floor plan in which the service rooms are located on the garden level, while the state rooms and reception halls are situated on the slightly elevated ground floor. The facades are punctuated by projecting wings crowned at the roofline by a wide arched pediment on the east side and a tall tower on the west. The château features an Italian-style staircase at the front. The current owner is dedicated to restoring this vast residence to its former glory, while preserving its romantic charm. The grounds are enhanced by a beautiful swimming pool and a cozy wooden pool house.

The history of the Château de la Douve d’Armaillé began on July 2, 1565, when René Cormier, Count of Fontenelle, purchased part of the seigneurial house and farmstead of La Douve. The château is located on the lands of a former fief of La Roche d’Iré. It was passed down through inheritance to the Cormier family and eventually came into the possession of the Marquis d’Armaillé.

After the Revolution, in 1793, during the Wars of the Vendée, the Lords of La Douve—Monsieur and Madame d’Armaillé—died. They left behind five children, including General René d’Armaillé, who served in the Army of the Princes, which he believed was destined to restore the monarchy. His youngest brother, Ambroise Louis Henri de la Forest d’Armaillé, became the owner of La Douve. He married Gabrielle de Buisseret-Steebecque de Blarenghien on May 8, 1866. Being relatively penniless, it was thanks to this marriage and his wife’s fortune that he undertook the construction of the current Château de la Douve. Henri d’Armaillé commissioned architect Auguste Bibard to build the château around 1871–1874. He added a chapel around 1880.

The Château de La Douve holds a treasure: Auguste-Médard de la Forest, Chevalier d’Armaillé, had four sons and five daughters. Two of his daughters were arrested along with their maid at a farm in La Douve called La Mabouillère. During the Vendée uprising, this maid had hidden a considerable sum of money and the silverware belonging to her employers. She was denounced to the Committee of Public Safety, which had her arrested and imprisoned in Angers, in the former Calvaire convent, which had been converted into a prison. There, too, attempts to extract any information about the treasure from her proved futile. She was then separated from Armaillé’s three-year-old daughter, who was entrusted to the jailer, in whose care she died of starvation and grief. The maid was executed shortly thereafter; the only words she agreed to utter were these: “When my masters return, tell them that the treasure is hidden in a place we pass by every day.”

During World War II, young Parisians attending summer camp stayed at the château on a permanent basis, including many Jewish children who found refuge there. They were never turned in, and a few months ago, a survivor returned to pay her respects to the property where she had stayed. At the time, the Nazis were occupying the Château de Falloux, just a few hundred meters away.

On the ground floor, the Château de La Douve d’Armaillé welcomes you into its grand foyer, which opens onto three spacious adjoining living rooms, each measuring just over 60 square meters and connected by large glass doors. Each lounge can comfortably accommodate about 40 people for seated banquets, for a total of 120 guests for your family events, wedding, or reception. A grand staircase leads to the bedrooms on the two upper floors. A catering area, a game room with a pool table, and restrooms are located on the garden level.

The castle can accommodate 36 people in 18 bedrooms, each with its own bathroom—a feature dating back to when the castle was a hotel, before it was purchased by its current owner. The bedding is in perfect condition and comfortable. By renting the entire estate exclusively and accommodating your guests on-site in the castle’s bedrooms, you’re not only treating them to a wonderful celebration but also to a memorable stay filled with shared experiences and camaraderie. They’ll also have the chance to discover the charm of this region, so famous for its relaxed way of life.

30 minutes from Angers and slightly more than one hour from Nantes and Rennes, on the road of the famous french Châteaux de la Loire, come and discover the wonders of Anjou  between charming villages, secret heritage, authentic farms. This part of Anjou, called “Blue Anjou” is a vast territory that stretches from the borders of Brittany to the rivers of Sarthe and Mayenne. It finds its name in the blue slates, sky and rivers. This territory draws its history from the wealth of its subsoil mixing slate schists, iron ore and granite stone. You can visit the Blue Mine which is a unique site in Europe and offers a guided tour 126 meters underground galleries and mining chambers of this former mining site.

Discover the river or the Halage route between Mayenne and Maine-et-Loire, thanks to the base of leisure Anjou Sport Nature.

Travel back in time to La Petite Couère: All the charm of yesteryear revives through the reconstituted village in a huge park where animals graze peacefully. Discover the life of the nineteenth century through this eco-museum housing a wildlife park and a reconstituted village of 1900, with its famous grocery store, his school, living rooms of the time, incredible collections.

Immerse yourself in the heart of Pouancé Fortress! Browse the remains of this must-see fortress on the Marches de Bretagne. And let yourself be surprised by the towering towers and unique defense elements that make this fortress an exception in military art.

On the Route des Chateaux de la Loire, located at the entrance of Segré and going from Angers to Rennes, the castle of Lorie is the northernmost of the castles of the Loire. Built during the reign of Louis XIII, it contains a large living room entirely made of marble and similar to the decor of the princely palaces. Its large gallery designed by the Marquis de Saint-Genys houses a beautiful collection of paintings of art and antiques.

For golf lovers, the Anjou Golf & Country Club welcomes you in a natural and preserved environment. Spread over a hundred hectares, the estate welcomes you for your relaxation with its courses, cottages and club house.

In the parks and gardens of Anjou, your senses are constantly awake. Go biking on the “The Loire by Bike” route or along the rivers to explore undiscovered landscapes. Embark your cherubim to conquer the longest river in France. Be your family captain aboard a boat to go up the rivers of Haut-Anjou. Cultural, tourist and sporting activities are not lacking around the castle of La Douve d’Armaillé, and only two hours from Paris !