The Manoir des Zoaques, between Rouen and Honfleur, only 1h30 from Paris, was the summer residence of Sacha Guitry: an atypical Anglo-Norman style castle with refined decorations, surrounded by a garden designed by Claude Monet. This 20-hectare estate, nestled in a loop of the Seine, has a swimming pool, a tennis court, a sauna and a gym. A privileged place to gather your family or your friends for a weekend or a week of holidays. Renting the Zoaques is to live an incomparable experience of French history and culture.
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Château des Zoaques
Discover the property of Château des Zoaques
On the outskirts of the small village of Yainville, at the end of a long driveway lined with tall cedars, you will discover this Anglo-Norman style manor house dating from the 19th century, with its improbable decorations: glazed tiles, half-timbering and coloured ceramic finials. The forest is planted with oak, beech and maple trees. A belvedere overlooks the Seine and offers a magnificent view of the river. The garden, full of rhododendrons and roses, was designed by Claude Monet, who came to visit his friend Sacha Guitry. To relax: a blue mosaic swimming pool, a tennis court, and a summer lounge under a straw hut. Three llamas, housed in a farm building below, will keep you company.
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Principal living and reception rooms
Like Sacha Guitry, you will fall under the spell of the Zoaques. It was in this peaceful place that he wrote his first films. In the salons, he organised social parties for the “whole of Paris” (because Les Zoaques is only an hour and a half from Paris). He often invited his friends: Claude Monet, Marguerite Moreno, Jules Renard or Octave Mirbeau. A few years later, it was the King of Norway, Olav V, who stayed at the castle. Like Sacha Guitry, you can entertain your friends in the beautiful series of reception rooms: a large lounge-library with an imposing Nordic fireplace and a cathedral ceiling. From this lounge you can access a small bar in a tower, and on the other side the billiard room, which communicates with the Claude Monet dining room.
Rent our château and experience a slice of authentic french country life
Our bedrooms
The eight rooms in the manor can accommodate about twenty people. There are five bathrooms with bath or shower. All the rooms are comfortable and have kept the style of the Roaring Twenties, lit by large windows with small panes. They all offer a beautiful view of the park or the Seine. During your stay at the Zoaques, you can retreat to your room to read, write or simply relax, away from the hustle and bustle of your group. You can also work out in the gym and then relax in the jacuzzi or sauna. Renting the Château des Zoaques means offering your loved ones, young and old, a relaxing stay and unforgettable memories!
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History
Les Zoaques is an atypical manor named after one of Sacha Guitry’s plays.
Throughout its 150-year history, Les Zoaques has received prestigious guests such as King Olaf V of Norway, but its most glorious period was during the First World War, when it was the summer residence of Sacha Guitry, and then of Marthe Hanau, the sultry banker of the Roaring Twenties, who was played on the screen by Romy Schneider in Francis Girod’s film, “La Banquière”.
Sacha Guitry had made the Zoaques one of the provincial hot spots of the “Parisian life” of arts, entertainment and even (already!) cinema. Guitry, playwright, actor, director and screenwriter, was only 30 years old at the time, and he was already the embodiment of the French spirit that the Parisian public was so keen on. His plays had already brought him honours, money and success. But it is less well known that, from 1915, Guitry turned to the emerging art of cinema by becoming a director. His first film shot in the middle of the war, “Ceux de chez nous”, featured Auguste Rodin, Claude Monet, Anatole France and Auguste Renoir. Claude Monet remembered him, and often came to the Zoaques as a neighbour and friend.
Guitry loved wit, he was funny, and the list of guests who stayed at the Zoaques shows that one was hardly bored there: Octave Mirbeau, Jules Renard (list not limited). Sacha Guitry was a friend of actors such as Raimu, whom he launched (later on, it was he who discovered Louis de Funés, Darry Cowl, Michel Serrault…), but he also liked women a lot (too much? ) women; among the great actresses of the time, Marguerite Moréno and Rachel Boyer… came to the Zoaques, before he divorced Charlotte to marry Yvonne Printemps in 1919 (with Sarah Berhardt, Georges Feydeau, Tristan Bernard as witnesses).
Guitry never returned to the Zoaques, but he reigned for almost half a century over the French spirit. Among his most famous witticisms:
– When one has just heard Mozart, the silence that follows is still his”;
-” To separate is not to leave someone, it is to leave both of us”.
– What is the point of learning what is in the books, since it is already there?
-” Morphine was invented to allow doctors to sleep in peace”…
For his guests at the Zoaques, Guitry had written a 10-point rule of procedure, which begins as follows: For his guests at the Zoaques, Guitry had written a set of 10 rules of procedure, which begins: “You are at home here, but you must realise that this is just a figure of speech”. The rules of procedure are still in place at Les Zoaques, and Guitry’s spirit is still present…
Experience the Château Lifestyle.
Château Lifestyle
Share the simple pleasures of life with those you love
Activities around
In France, in Seine-Maritime, in the heart of the Normandy region, in the Boucles de la Seine Regional Park, between Paris, Honfleur, Rouen, and Deauville, the Manoir des Zoaques is an ideal starting point for many cultural visits.
The 7th century Jumièges Abbey, located in the neighbouring village of Zoaques, was described by Victor Hugo as “the most beautiful ruin in France”.
Rouen is classified as a City of Art and History. Its impressive cathedral has been painted several times by Claude Monet.
Deauville is an international reference, a meeting place for film stars and turf players. Its beaches, its casino, its elegant establishments participate in the legend of this city.
Honfleur invites you to discover its picturesque streets and half-timbered houses covered with slate. City of painters and Impressionism, Honfleur has that extra soul that makes it irresistible. On the Seine estuary, the changing lights of the sky inspired Courbet, Monet, Boudin and many others.
Etretat, a romantic open-air theatre on the English Channel, has inspired the most illustrious artists. The singular shapes of its cliffs, the Manneporte, the Courtine or the Aiguille, invite the imagination.
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Practical information
From Paris, take the direction of Rouen.
From Rouen, take the direction of Le Havre. Take the D43, pass La Vaupalière, then take the D47, pass the village of La Fontaine, go along the Seine on the D982, known as the Route du Havre, cross Duclair.
After Duclair, turn left towards Jumièges. After the centre of Yainville, the entrance to the Manoir des Zoaques will be on your right. A wrought iron gate opens onto a large avenue of conifers.
Surface of the Manor : 800 m2 , surface of the park 20 Ha
Total sleeping capacity of the Manor : 20 persons, 8 bedrooms
Distribution of the rooms:
Ground floor of the chateau :
– Living room and library with a large Nordic fireplace
– Bar in a tower accessible from the living room, and turret with chess game
– Billiard room
– Claude Monet dining room
– Fully equipped kitchen
– Small dining room with television in extension of the kitchen
– Yellow room: 1 bed in 160, 2 persons,
– Bathroom with WC, and separate WC
– Red room : 1 bed in 140, 2 persons
1st floor of the extension made by Sacha Guitry :
– Chambre Blanche: 1 bed in 160, 2 persons
– Blue Room: 1 bed 140 and 1 child’s bed 90, 2 persons + 1 child
– Blue bathroom and WC
2nd floor of this extension :
– Son’s room: 1 bed 140, 2 persons
– Mosaic shower room and separate WC
– Grandmother’s room: 1 bed 90cm and washbasin, 1 person
– Living room with Spanish fireplace: 1 double sofa bed
1st floor of the original part of the chateau :
– Claude Monet’s suite: 1 double bed, 2 persons
– Bathroom with WC and dressing room. Separate WC
2nd floor of the original part of the castle :
-Dormitory room: 1 bed in 140 and 2 sofas beds in 140: 6 persons
Above the kitchen:
– Wellness room on the 1st floor: sauna, massage chairs, sports equipment, shower
On the ground floor, accessible from the outside: games room with table tennis, table football, sports equipment
The Cottage (on one level, ideal for a family) :
– Living room, dining room, fitted kitchen
– Master bedroom: 1 x 160cm bed,
– Children’s bedroom: 2 single beds (90cm) + extra bed if required
– a sofa bed (140cm)
– Shower room and WC
Park of 20 Ha :
– Swimming pool
– Tennis court
– Living room under a pagoda with outdoor fireplace accessible from the bar, barbecue
– Field and common with three llamas
Our team will be at your disposal for any question you may have.