Day seminars, residential workshops, company dinners, weddings and family receptions for 10 to 250 guests are held at the Château du Rivau, in Lémeré, about 15 minutes from Chinon in rural Touraine. The medieval castle is a listed historic monument, and its 15 gardens carry the Jardin Remarquable label.
Seminars and company events
The château builds programmes for one day, several days or a residential stay. A typical day starts with coffee and pastries in the former royal stables, continues with meetings or workshops, breaks for lunch in one of the two restaurants and ends with team building in the afternoon and a walk through the gardens and the castle, which is included with room hire. Activities and talks focus on nature, biodiversity and sustainable development. Rooms come with fibre internet, a projector, a screen and a paperboard, and can be laid out for meetings, conferences, meals or product launches. Private evenings can close the day.
Weddings and receptions
Weddings, birthdays and private celebrations take 10 to 250 guests. The Toison d'Or hall can be set with round tables, in a U or in long rows, and can take sound and lighting. The team helps plan the day and recommends caterers, photographers, hairdressers and DJs. The estate's own wine is offered to couples on preferential terms, and small personalised gifts for guests can be arranged.
Rooms and capacities
The Toison d'Or, 300 m² under a lit timber roof, takes up to 300 and can be split in two with movable panels. It is heated from the ceiling and used from April to October, and its door faces the Potager de Gargantua. Le Pressoir, a former wine press of 327 m² around an open courtyard, suits cocktails and evening events. The Écuries Renaissance, two vaulted halls of 152 m² on the ground floor, take up to 150 and suit work sessions and executive committees. Upstairs, a 60 m² room seats 30 theatre-style or 15 at tables. The Salon des Curiosités, 63 m², takes 20 for a management committee.
Accommodation
The four-star hotel, in the royal stables, has six double rooms and one suite. The Gîte du Rivau, with five bedrooms, sleeps ten and suits a residential seminar team. Hotel guests can walk in the gardens after closing time.
Catering
Catering is in-house. La Table des Fées is the gastronomic restaurant, where groups can dine in the evening facing the lit castle. Le Jardin Secret, the hotel restaurant, also takes private events of up to 20. Both cook local produce on short supply chains, some of it from the estate's organic kitchen garden.
History and setting
The Rivau was fortified in the 15th century by the Beauvau family, and Rabelais mentions it in Gargantua. Today it is known as much for its gardens as for its walls: 15 themed gardens, an orchard and irises in April, roses and lavender in early summer, grasses in July and August, then the vegetable garden and the Allée des Fées in autumn. Contemporary art is shown in the gardens each season.
Getting there
Lémeré lies about 15 minutes from Chinon and 45 minutes from Tours, Saumur and Poitiers. The château gives a journey time of 2 h 30 from Paris.
At a glance
What sets it apart
- 01Toison d'Or hall, 300 m², up to 300 guests, splits in two
- 02Seven-room four-star hotel in the royal stables plus a gîte for ten
- 03Two in-house restaurants using produce from the organic garden
- 0415 gardens labelled Jardin Remarquable, self-guided visit included
- 05Fibre internet, projector and screen in the seminar rooms
