Large holiday homes to rent in Normandy
Two holiday homes in Normandy, both near Bernay, in the Eure: in La Chapelle-Hareng, a half-timbered Pays d'Auge farmhouse for 15, and in Caorches-Saint-Nicolas, a 19th-century manor for 22, set in a clearing in the heart of 200 hectares of forest. Each has its own heated indoor pool, and Paris is 2h from one and 1h50 from the other. Beyond that they have little in common: this page says how, and what there is to see around them.
Caorches-Saint-Nicolas, Eure
Caorches le Voisnard
From €1,155.00 / night
from €52.50 per person per night, at 22 guests
La Chapelle-Hareng, Eure
La Chapelle-Hareng
From €840.00 / night
from €56.00 per person per night, at 15 guests
Holiday home with a pool in Normandy: two covered pools, open all year
Better to say it up front: both our Normandy pools are indoors, and neither house has an outdoor pool. That is what lets you swim in November as in April. At La Chapelle-Hareng, you swim under a large glass veranda that looks onto the garden, then move on to the sauna or the Nordic bath at 37°C, under its wooden shelter, to alternate hot and cool. At Caorches-Saint-Nicolas, the water is at 28°C in a separate pool house at the heart of the estate, open until 10 pm. A hammam and sun loungers go with it, and its lounge becomes a yoga space for those who practise. On the days the sea wins, the Deauville beaches are 45 minutes from La Chapelle-Hareng and 50 minutes from Caorches-Saint-Nicolas.
Farmhouse or manor: a holiday home for 15 or for 22
The two houses, about 12 km apart as the crow flies, differ in size and in character, and the headcount often decides. Up to fifteen, La Chapelle-Hareng is enough: 235 m², 6 bedrooms and an alcove, 3 shower rooms, in a two-century-old farmhouse with exposed beams, low doorways and steep stairs up to the attic bedrooms. Ask us for the floor plan before you book, and we will send it. Above fifteen, and up to 22, it is Caorches-Saint-Nicolas: 500 m², 8 bedrooms and 5 bathrooms, split between the manor and an 80 m² cottage. The cottage has its own living room, its own kitchen and, upstairs, a bedroom with five single beds, which gives a family or a group of teenagers some independence. The manor has lived a full life, creaking parquet and period carpets included, and its living room seats eight to ten: with 22 of you, the group spreads out between the dining room, the kitchen, the cottage and the pool house, then comes together at the table. Outside, each has a play area for the children. La Chapelle-Hareng also has an enclosed garden and a large terrace. At Caorches-Saint-Nicolas, the grounds are only partly fenced, wild and domestic animals cross them, and a caretaker couple lives on the estate, in their own house.
Around Bernay: Lisieux, Le Bec-Hellouin and Deauville within the hour
Bernay is the station for both houses, 1h30 by train from Paris Saint-Lazare. It is 7 minutes from Caorches-Saint-Nicolas and 18 from La Chapelle-Hareng, and Deauville-Normandie airport is 45 or 50 minutes away depending on the house. Once there, allow 20 minutes from La Chapelle-Hareng and 30 from Caorches-Saint-Nicolas to the Basilica of Sainte-Thérèse in Lisieux, 25 and 30 to the Cerza zoo, 30 and 25 to the cider museum at the Manoir du Val. On the La Chapelle-Hareng side, the Fontaine au Dragon trail starts in front of the house, a 10.6 km loop to walk or run, and the Château de Saint-Germain-de-Livet is 25 minutes away. On the Caorches-Saint-Nicolas side, the Château de Beaumesnil, nicknamed the Versailles of Normandy, is 20 minutes away, the abbey and farm of Le Bec-Hellouin 25, and the Domaine du Champ de Bataille 35. For a day given over to history, the Mémorial de Caen is an hour from La Chapelle-Hareng and 1h25 from Caorches-Saint-Nicolas.