Château de la Turmelière takes seminars, study days and team-building stays in rooms for 10 to 120 people, weddings and family parties for up to 150 guests in the château, and up to 240 people across the estate depending on layout, with 130 beds on site. The château stands at Liré, in Orée-d'Anjou, on the Loire hillsides 5 km from Ancenis, run by La Turmelière, a non-profit association founded in 1988.
Seminars and company events
The seminar offer covers working stays, study days and residential seminars. Meeting rooms seat 10 to 120 people and come with sound system, microphones, video projector, screens, flip chart and wifi. Coffee breaks with tea, juice and biscuits are served on site. For team building, the association's instructors run collective development workshops, sports, environmental or cultural sessions, and a multisport challenge with orienteering, climbing and Battle Archery. Cycling team-building stays on loops or point-to-point routes include a solidarity action that funds holidays for families in need. Tailor-made programs are possible.
Weddings and receptions
The château is also hired for weddings and family celebrations, with several rooms that together take up to 150 guests. The four ground-floor rooms have ceilings over 6 meters high, many windows, paintings of cherubs and large mirrors. Couples bring their own caterer, chosen from a list the association sends on request or elsewhere.
Rooms and capacities
On the ground floor of the château: La Pléiade (35 m²), Pierre de Ronsard (70 m²), the central hall (50 m²) and Joachim du Bellay (70 m²). The Espace Orangerie adds the Salle du Chêne 1 (67 m²), its annex Chêne 2 (14 m²) and the Salle de l'Orangerie (97 m²), which connect. The Espace Sport has a 100 m² lounge, a 45 m² annex room and an equipped kitchen, for up to 110 people. Furniture available includes 16 round tables for about eight, 10 rectangular tables, 10 standing tables and 110 chairs.
Accommodation
The estate has 130 beds. The château alone has 20 rooms of two to five single beds, 74 beds in all, each with private bathroom and toilet, served by a lift; annex gîtes add more. Seminar groups can choose single, double or shared rooms.
Catering
For seminars, the head chef cooks with seasonal, eco-responsible produce and serves seated meals, trays, buffets or standing lunches in the château dining rooms, the Espace Orangerie or the Espace Sport lounge. For private receptions, a professional kitchen in the château basement, with cold room, ovens and goods lift, can be rented by your caterer.
History and setting
The name comes from the mills, or tours meulières, that once dotted the area. The medieval fortress, burned in 1793 during the Vendée wars, survives as ruins in the park. The poet Joachim du Bellay was born here in 1522. The present château, inspired by Château de Beaumesnil in Normandy, was built from 1887 for Count Charles Thoinnet. The 45-hectare wooded park holds the European Ecolabel.
Getting there
Paris to Ancenis takes 2 hours by TGV; trains from Nantes take 20 minutes and from Angers 25 minutes. The château can arrange shuttles from Ancenis station, 4 km away. By car, Nantes is 45 minutes away, Angers 55 minutes and Paris about 3 hours 30 via the A11. The Loire à Vélo route passes nearby.
