The Loire Valley with
October 3 - 8, 2025
experience the lavish Loire Valley with Coucou french classes and rêverie. All levels of french learners are welcome to join this immersive week in one of france’s most exquisite regions.
6 Days, 5 nights
October 3 - 8, 2025
For this week of immersive French language learning, you’ll stay at the luxurious Château de Jalesnes in the heart of the Loire Valley. Coucou will lead a variety of activities to strengthen your conversation skills as we explore the surrounding villages and dive into the vast culinary offerings of the region. Get ready for an unforgettable week of everything French!
From $5500.00 USD
If you are traveling solo and interested in sharing a room with another guest, click here!
What will you do?
The Château de Jalesnes, your home for the week, is a Reverie favorite that you’re sure to fall in love with. Each luxury room has its own modern bathroom, king-size bed (or two doubles if you prefer!), and plenty of space to relax. The grand dining hall and the beautiful gardens will play as host to many meals at the château where you’ll eat like kings and queens.
During our time in the château, Coucou French Classes will provide guided activities to sharpen your French (think pétanque tournaments and cocktail workshops!) and the Reverie team will be in the kitchen preparing classic, delicious French meals to grace the dinner table.
When we’re not learning at the château, we’ll make our way out to the open-air market in Saumur, the village next door, as well as to the bustling city of Angers for a day of shopping and exploring. Combier will host us for a tour of their time-honored distillery, and we’ll take the time to taste innumerable natural wines produced just around the corner from where we’re sleeping. The Loire Valley is rich in flavor, and we plan to taste it all!
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While we hope everyone will participate, all experiences are optional! Please feel free to take time for yourself whenever you like.
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Rêverie and Coucou have carefully created activities and experiences that we believe represent the best of the region and our own expertise, aiming to provide an optimal experience for the participants.
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Coucou will provide several engaging experiences for learners to practice their French skills and grow in their confidence. Rêverie has planned a number of food-focused experiences fully in French for participants to appreciate the flavors of the region.
all levels of french language speakers are welcome to join in on this retreat. if you want to make the most of your immersive learning experience, we recommend jumping in on some classes with Coucou prior to the start date. If you’ve taken some french in the past, You can check your current level with the Coucou placement test on their website before signing up. And guess what! If you’ve never taken French before, you can start today!
YOUR guest host
Get to know:
coucou, (more than) a French school
Coucou is the “it” school for French learners and francophiles. They are a woman-founded, bicoastal business with over 10 years of experience in French education. They have created a modern, approachable curriculum that sets them apart from other language schools. Their team of passionate teachers and French-speaking professionals fosters a diverse community by welcoming students from all backgrounds. After a decade of building their community of learners, they’re delighted to partner with Rêverie!
YOUR ITINERARY
*Please note that changes to the itinerary may occur between now and your retreat start date*
DAY ONE
friday 10.03.25
Bienvenue en France! You’ve made it to the Loire Valley! After our coaches greet you at the train station in Angers, you’ll follow the river all the way to Vernantes, home of the glorious Château de Jalesnes. There, the Rêverie team will greet you and help you settle into your luxury suites before we all meet for a chef-prepared welcome luncheon in the château gardens. Here, you’ll meet your hosts from Coucou and all of your new friends. After an afternoon of post-travel relaxation, we’ll meet you for l’heure de l’apéro (the French cocktail hour!) in the salon, and then we’ll head into the grand dining hall for a welcome feast. Pas mal, n’est-ce pas?
DAY two
saturday 10.04.25
After a delightful breakfast spread and your morning coffee, you’ll head to the traditional open-air market in Saumur, held every Saturday in this charming neighboring city. Enjoy the aromas and sights as you peruse seasonal offerings, or sit and have a coffee with the locals at a café. We’ll then head back to your château home for a market lunch prepared by the Rêverie team. In the afternoon, your hosts from Coucou will guide you in a market-inspired French lesson, and then we’re on to apéro and dinner!
DAY three
sunday 10.05.25
Following breakfast on day three, we’ll have the morning open for relaxation and exploring the château grounds. The château salons will be open for French conversation practice, or you can pop in the kitchen to see what’s cooking. Lunch will be served in the dining hall, and then we’ll head back to Saumur for a behind the scenes tour of the Combier Distillery, who you may already know as one of Coucou’s proud sponsors! We’ll then head to Ackerman Caves to learn about the age-old tradition of producing crémant in the region. We’ll end our outing with cheese and charcuterie boards and bottles of local natural wines at La Tonnelle, one of our favorite wine bars in France! Then we’re back to the château for an easy dinner before tucking in for the night.
DAY four
monday 10.06.25
By now, you’ll be waking up excited to see your new friends and eat all the delicious foods. Breakfast will greet you in the dining hall, and then you can take your coffee into the kitchen for a baking class with award-winning baker Richard Ruan of La Boulangerie des Carmes. Richard will show you how to make his super secret pastry dough that he uses in a variety of ways in his beloved bakery in Angers, La Boulangerie des Carmes. We’ll all sit down to lunch together, and we’ll meet back up in the late afternoon for a big ol’ grill party! Your hosts from Coucou will lead you in a blind test (that’s French for “name that tune!”) and a pétanque tournament in the gardens. Allez!
DAY five
tuesday 10.07.25
On our final day together, your Coucou hosts have planned an exciting morning of games to practice your new French skills and learn a bit more about the history of the château. Don’t get lost in the moat! After a final lunch at the château lovingly prepared by the Rêverie kitchen, you’ll take a ride to Angers for an afternoon of exploring and shopping. You can visit the Château d’Angers, the medieval fortress at the heart of the city, or you can take a tour of the bakeries to see what’s cooking. We’ll meet for wine and snacks at Le Circle Rouge, another incredible natural wine bar, before heading to our last supper together as a group at one of our favorite restaurants in Angers.
DAY six
wednesday 10.08.25
Today, we depart from our home for the week and we soak up every last breath of the wide open air of the Loire Valley. Following one last breakfast at the Château de Jalesnes, you’ll say your “au revoirs” and head out to the Angers train station. Bon voyage!
FRENCH IMMERSION
To help you advance as much as possible during your stay, your Coucou teachers have prepared a program of fun activities that will keep you on your toes, expand vocabulary and above all–get you talking! This week together can be as immersive as you choose. For anyone who wishes to do so, Coucou teachers will be available to speak to you in French at any time around the château, but they can also adapt to accommodate beginner speakers. All levels are welcome to join!
WORKSHOPS
Full Immersion Experience at the château - our team and your Coucou French Classes instructors will be there to help you along the way as you speak as much French as possible during your week with us.
French Trivia + Name that tune - We’ll make sure you have the tools to succeed in this fun quiz night!
Cocktail workshop with Combier Distillery - plunge into the history of this delicious beverage that is celebrated worldwide, and learn to make some fabulous cocktails for all your future hosting needs!
EXPLORE
The Loire Valley overflows with ages-old tradition and flavor, and we plan to show you as much of it as we can. We’ll start the week with a trip to the traditional open-air market in Saumur to browse the local offerings and take in the seasonal aromas. In the same charming city, we’ll also spend an afternoon discovering the Combier Distillery, famous for its bitter orange liqueur. And of course, we’ll have plenty of opportunities to taste the wines of the Loire Valley both in and out of the château. On our final day together, we will head to Angers, where you can spend the afternoon wandering the old streets, shopping, or visiting the apocalyptic tapestries well-preserved within the walls of the famous château.
OUTINGS
Shopping at the open-air market in Saumur
Visit the Combier Distillery in Saumur
Explore the sweet Loire Valley city of Angers
WHAT’S INCLUDED
Private coach transfers to and from the Angers Saint Laud train station (Gare d’Angers Saint Laud) to and from the Château de Jalesnes.
Coucou French Classes workshops, activities and all materials associated
Recipes galore !
All meals (unless you go rogue)
All wine and beverages for the week, unless you wanna buy your own for an after hours party ;)
Private transportation while on retreat for all scheduled outings and transfers
All scheduled tours and events during our week
Ultra-luxe Château lodging, naturally !
* Due to the nature of the experience we wish to provide, we can accommodate vegetarians, but will be unable to accommodate any further dietary restrictions. Please get in touch if you have questions about your particular dietary needs!!
Everything! Well, everything except for your airfare and train to the Angers Saint Laud train station. But once you arrive, we got you.
GETTING HERE
Airplane
Guests will fly into Paris (Charles de Gaulle airport - CDG). From there, guests can take a train directly from the CDG airport in Terminal 2 to the Angers Saint Laud train station, or from the Gare Montparnasse in the Paris city center. We will arrange for pick up at the Angers Saint Laud train station. For a fee, we can arrange private transport directly from the Charles de Gaulle airport or from your hotel in Paris to the Château de Jalesnes.
*If you choose to arrive after our arranged pickup time or to leave earlier on the last day, we would be happy to help you arrange for a private driver for an additional fee.
*Cost of travel to the Angers Saint Laud train station is not included in the cost of your reservation. Please let us know if we can offer any support or guidance with your travel plans - we’re happy to help!
Car
The Château de Jalesnes is about a 3-4 hour drive from the Charles de Gaulle (CDG) airport in Paris. For those comfortable using a GPS and driving out of big cities, this could be a great way for you to get around and have a little more freedom during your stay with us. If you allow for extra time, you can even take the back roads and enjoy that incredible scenery as you follow along the Loire River. Please let us know if you do decide to rent a car so that we may inform our car service.
Train
A few direct trains are available from the Charles de Gaulle (CDG) airport to the Angers Saint Laud train stations, and several trains leave the Paris Montparnasse train station every day to Angers. If you’d like to travel by train but are unfamiliar with the system, we would be happy to help you book your ticket.
Travel Reservation
If you would like guidance with booking your travel to the Chateau, please reach out.
We are here to help make this part easy and smooth.
If you would like to extend your stay in France, we are delighted to partner with The French Travel, a locally owned and operated trip designer based in Paris. They are true experts who will help you perfectly plan your before and/or after Rêverie experience. Check them out for more info!
As you probably already know, our friends at Coucou French Classes offer some incredible online and in-person French language classes - whether you’re looking to brush up on your high school French or looking to learn a few phrases to feel more comfortable with travel, Coucou French Classes is the way! Check out their website for more information.