The Château du Pin can host a seminar, a company evening, a wedding, a birthday, a christening or an association dinner, for up to 130 guests seated across two adjoining rooms. The castle stands at Morancé, in the Rhône, on the southern edge of the Beaujolais, less than 20 kilometres from Lyon. It has a 2-hectare park, five suites and views stretching to Mont Blanc on clear days.
Seminars and company events
The castle sells seminars and company evenings all year round. Meeting rooms are set up to suit the size of each group, and the team works with selected partners to organise the day. A full day of hire and a set meal for professional events are both offered, and the castle can extend a programme with activities nearby.
Options include golf at Lucenay, escape games and French billiards on site, magic shows, hot-air balloon flights, massages, wine tastings with professionals and visits to the Beaujolais vineyards, the medieval village of Charnay, the Espace Pierres Folles geology museum and the Hameau Duboeuf wine park.
Weddings and receptions
Weddings are the castle's main business. The main reception room seats 100 and an adjoining room adds 20 to 30 more, for an indoor total of 120 to 130 seated guests. Photos can be taken in the park, with the view over the plain. The team helps with planning and the search for suppliers, can recommend DJs and arranges marquees on request. Furniture, including tables, chairs and cutlery, is supplied. Sunday hire and a Sunday brunch can extend the weekend. The castle also hosts birthdays, christenings, communions, class reunions and association dinners.
Rooms and capacities
The main reception room covers about 100 m² and keeps an old wine press. A second room, the library, adjoins it, and depending on the number of guests the connected rooms reach 235 m². Outside, the estate offers a 2-hectare park, terraces, courtyards, a swimming pool and a jacuzzi.
Accommodation
Five suites are available in the castle, from 40 to 72 m². Retour des Croisades, the largest at 72 m², has a king-size bed and a solarium. Stark measures 40 m², Louis XIII 41 m² with a four-poster bed, La Chanas 52 m² as a double suite with a view towards Mont Blanc, and Anne de Ballarin 57 m². The wedding page also mentions a gîte. Hotels and guesthouses nearby take the remaining guests.
Catering
The castle does not cook itself. It works with several trusted partner caterers for weddings, seminars and private receptions, and a Sunday brunch is offered.
History and setting
The castle was built around 1100 by the de la Chana family, lords of Le Pin, and its large keep dates from 1311. It passed to the Verneys and Foudras families, then to the Chaponay family, who held it until 1884. It was left to the Amplepuis hospice in 1908, bought by the Gonindard family in 1977 and by Bruno Bonnel in 2002. François-Régis Ory acquired it in 2007 and runs it today for weddings and events.
Getting there
The address is 600 Chemin de la Ronze, 69480 Morancé. Lyon is less than 20 kilometres away, about 20 minutes by road. The castle sits between the Beaujolais vineyards and the Saône valley, and arrival by car is the simplest option.
