After achieving international success in the festival market and boosting the cultural scene, we decided to become actors ourselves. Our new job takes us, the CEVENNEMENTS AGENCY, to the South of France. With the help of investors, we have started to develop a new chain of high-quality guesthouses in castles and mansions. Discover the first sample project of our franchise programme "Le Jardin Hors du temps" (The Garden Out of Time) in Val d’Aigoual, part of the UNESCO heritage in the Cévennes National Park. This "third place", will offer creative spaces and cultural programmes.
*A third place is a familiar public spot where you regularly connect with others, over a shared interest or activity. Where you have access to everything you could possibly want or need at home, offering privacy if desired, or a sense of community.
There is a pleasant little corner of the world where the rhythm is determined by the forest, the stream and the mountains. Here, you don’t have to be constantly vigilant or adapt to the crowd. It’s a place where you can find peace and open up to others. Where the playfulness, art, well-being and good spirits welcome you.
We discovered an idyllic 1700 m² park, the gates of which had previously been kept closed to curious spectators. For the summer season 2024, we have transformed it into a **guinguette**, a bucolic outdoor café. The Garden Out of Time is called "Le Jardin Hors du temps" in French. In the spirit of sustainable development and environmental protection we built a bar by respecting the values of a 400-year-old building and renovating a place formerly used for sheep farming. Our aim is to host not only holidaymakers and excursionists, but first and foremost local residents and their families. We are passionate about the latter, so we have created playful spaces for young and old alike, such as a sensory trail between hedges, hammocks, swings and wooden toys. We are looking forward to welcoming you in the shade of the centuries-old trees, with tables tucked away in the lush bushes, to quench your thirst with homemade local drinks while listening to the flowing of the crystal-clear stream of Hérault, later widens into a river.
#kastélyprojekt, #castleproject
We are launching a project of “third places” (investment and property management based on tourism and cultural organisation), financed by investors. In addition to the internal ecotourism currently intense in France, the company also intends to focus on international hotel clients.
After having purchased a 400-year-old building in the village of Val d'Aigoual, a UNESCO World Heritage site, in the coming years, we plan to acquire and restore more castles and chateaux, to build a franchise chain in the Cévennes, with partners of similar nature- and people-oriented, sustainable values.
If you don't have the capital to buy a castle in the South of France on your own, but would like to be part of a joint venture, let's contact us. E-mail: kastelyprojekt@cevennements.fr
Click on the photo to watch a short video about the project and its plans (you can choose English or French subtitles). If you prefer to read, you can also read a written interview in English or French.