The luxe code: Live in a historic chateau this holiday season

Air-kiss opulence and experience exclusivity this holiday season. Hop on a charter yacht, wake up and sip on tea as elephants make a beeline at your door, stay in a palace and live like a king and queen — our issue today is about Indulgences. It’s time to treat your family and yourself to a much-deserved luxury holiday. To feel good about the year gone by, follow where the heart takes you, be it — tropical islands, mountains, ski fields. We say, pack up and live life luxe style.
-By Rashmi Henriques

CHATEAU STAY

REGION: Brittany, Champagne-Ardenne and Loire Valley

Think pure water lakes, Romanesque art, exotic cuisines and great collection of wine and liqours. There are lots of impressive chateaux to choose from in the French region — Brittany, Champagne-Ardenne and Loire Valley. If you want to treat your family to a royal experience then book online for a stay in a French chateau for a week.

The castles in the Loire Valley look like a vision straight out of a fairytale with their many lanterns, gables, dormer windows, columns, lofty chimneys, turrets and pinnacles. The legacy of the Loire Valley is incredibly diverse, ranging from fortresses to Renaissance palaces and classic castles. In addition to fascinating architecture, some castles are also of interest for other reasons such as the tapestry collections, art and furniture and natural beauty. The Loire Valley castles can be visited all year long, and children are welcome too. With kids in tow, enjoy the royal life!

WHAT IS CHATEAU?
The open villas of Rome in the times of Pliny the Elder, Maecenas, and Emperor Tiberius were walled-in, and then fortified in the 3rd century AD, thus evolving to chateaux. A chateau retains some enclosures: gated, closeable forecourt, a gatehouse or a keeper’s lodge, stables, kitchens, breweries and bakeries.