Château de Bioul hosts seminars, team-building days, business lunches, gala dinners and weddings for 10 to 300 guests, in eight indoor and outdoor spaces. The castle stands in the village of Bioul, in the municipality of Anhée in the province of Namur, at the center of its own organic vineyard. The Vaxelaire family has owned it for more than 120 years.
Seminars and company events
For professional events, the estate provides equipped, modular seminar rooms with video, sound and Wi-Fi support, plus areas for breaks and networking. Indoor and outdoor spaces are combined according to the season. A business lunch, a corporate evening, a seated gala or a walking dinner can follow the working sessions.
Team-building programs draw on the estate itself: wine and heritage workshops, food and wine pairings with the château's own wines, collaborative and playful activities, and nature and relaxation sessions. Each program is built around the company's goals. Car and motorcycle rallies can also stop at the castle for a visit, a tasting and a meal.
Weddings and receptions
Weddings, birthdays, communions and baptisms take place in the castle and its grounds. Cocktails can be served on the château terrace, in the inner courtyard or under the arches of the Galeries Italiennes, with dinner in La Serre, Les Chapitres or the reception rooms of the castle. Le Chai suits a smaller family dinner.
Rooms and capacities
The estate gives an overall range of 10 to 300 guests but no capacity per room. La Serre is a greenhouse set in a garden, used for receptions, seminars, workshops and candlelit dinners. Le Chai is a rustic room for intimate dinners and workshops, with a terrace over the vines. Les Chapitres is a reception hall on three levels that opens onto the castle courtyard, with vaulted ceilings and two egg-shaped wine tanks. Le Salon Blanc is a bright room with a park view for small meetings and presentations. Inside the castle, several lounges and reception rooms serve formal events. Outdoors, the Terrasse du Château and the Cour Intérieure face the park.
Catering
Menus are designed with a partner caterer, from a business lunch to a gala dinner or a walking dinner. The estate's own wines, certified organic and grown biodynamically, include Belgian still wines and crémants, and can be paired with each course.
History and setting
The site is first recorded in the 10th century, when a tower stood here, later joined by farm buildings arranged around a square. In 1522 Thierry de Brandebourg acquired the castle and built the tower that still stands, with a Gothic inscription. Troops of King Henri II burned the castle in 1554, after which it became a residential manor. François Vaxelaire bought the property in 1904 and renovated it in 16th-century style. Charles de Gaulle stayed here in 1927 during commemorations in Dinant. Since 2009 the Wyckmans-Vaxelaire family, the sixth generation, has kept up the castle while developing the vineyard, today 14 hectares, and the estate is run by Andy and Vanessa Wyckmans-Vaxelaire. The park has centuries-old trees.
Getting there
The address is Place Vaxelaire 1, 5537 Bioul. The castle is about 20 minutes from Namur and within reach of Brussels, Charleroi and Liège. A free private car park with 80 spaces lies on rue d'Arbre, about 150 meters from the estate. The estate opens to visitors Thursday to Sunday from April to the end of October, and all year by appointment.
