I stayed at Camp Chateau, the women’s summer camp in France, for the July summer session 2025. Here’s what it’s honestly like to stay at Camp Chateau, plus some travel tips and things I learned along the way.

Welcome to Camp Chateau

A couple years ago, my friend Lori sent me a Reel of this amazing fairytale looking place for women in the French countryside. I took one look at it and said, “I’m going!” So, she said she was in as well, and a few days later we booked a reservation for the next year.

A few days after that, the video we had seen went totally viral with millions of views and then thousands of women were on the wait list. We were so excited we had jumped on it so quickly and got a spot!

The video below is not the one that went viral, but the one I made during my stay at Camp Chateau:

What is Camp Chateau?

Camp Château is a women’s retreat located in Béduer, France, designed to offer an empowering, rejuvenating, and creative experience for adult women from around the world, summer camp style. You can learn more about the camp at: www.campchateau.com.

You’ll be bunking in a room with several other women or staying in a glamping tent. Each day there are camp activities you can choose from, or you can choose to do nothing and just relax.

The activities range from creative (painting, ceramics, felting), to physical (yoga, horseback riding, kayaking), to mental (journaling, astrology, meditation.)

You can also book therapies like massages and sound bath healing for an additional fee.

This is my honest description of my camp experience. It is a very unique opportunity, and everyone will have their own unique experience. If you are considering trying it, I completely recommend going!

Cost and Travel to Beduer, France

When we reserved our spot, it required a €675 deposit. The overall cost for the 6-day, 5-night stay was a little over €2250. (the prices are in Euros)

Normally, you would fly into Toulouse, France, but we decided if we were going that far, we wanted to see as much as possible, so we decided to fly to Barcelona first. The cost of our flights from Jacksonville to Spain and then France to back home were $1550.81. It was around the same price if we were just doing France and back.

We took a train from Barcelona to Toulouse, then a train from Toulouse to Figeac. Trains were not that expensive, but you will need to figure that into your cost. At the very least, you’ll need to take a train to Figeac.

The camp shuttle from the train station is free, and you’ll arrange that ahead of time with the camp.

I highly recommend adding in some extra time if you can and staying in Figeac overnight. It is a really neat medieval city with great food and cute boutiques for shopping. If not, you will still get to visit with the camp on market day.

What the Camp Chateau Bedrooms are Like

Most of the bedrooms are on floors two and three of the chateau, so make sure you are able to lug your suitcase up two flights of winding stairs! There is one room on the first floor.

The rooms are big and all unique. Our room had five beds, and the connecting room had three. The bathroom was actually in the connecting room, which was a little inconvenient, so I ended up using the hallway bathroom most of the time.

You get one kind of flat pillow, so bring a spare if you are a side sleeper and need a huggy pillow. The beds were small but decent. Remember, you are at camp, not a luxury hotel.

They give you an eye mask and ear plugs when you check in, and you’ll probably need them! There was no fan or white noise in our room, and you could hear every sound, so I found the ear plugs very useful.

Overall, I found the beds to be comfy and actually slept quite well.

The Other Rooms of the Chateau

Up the winding staircase to your left is where you go to the bedrooms and the very top floor is where you’ll find the Yoga and meditation room.

The bottom floor of the chateau is where everything else is located.

The main room where you walk in is where you’ll find breakfast and your lunch baskets.

Off to the right is the kitchen, and off to the left you’ll find the room to sign up for activities. Through there is the dining hall where you’ll have dinner. And through a door in the dining room is the chateau shop and a bathroom.

Also, off the main room, to the back, is the library and a bedroom. The library has the best Wi-Fi and the info for connecting. I found that I did also have Wi-Fi access in our room as well.

Bathroom Situation and Shower

Since our room bathroom was technically in another room, I mostly used the hall bathroom, which was more private. I also used the communal shower room, which had three private stalls.

The water pressure and temperature were both good in the shower. Everything looked nice and clean, but we did have an odd incident where the last stall had little mushrooms on the first day. By the fourth day, they had grown into large mushrooms and broke off and clogged the drains.

So, you might want to pack some shower shoes for camp!

But honestly overall everything was very clean and I’m sure the mushrooms were an isolated incident.

Shampoo, conditioner and body wash are provided, and I thought they worked pretty well. One girl in our bunk didn’t like them at all, so I guess it depends on your hair type. I would suggest packing your own if you are particular. And be sure to pack body lotion, as that is not provided.

One the first day you are provided with a towel, hand towels and a couple washcloths, plus a little basket for your toiletries.

Glamping Tents

I stayed in the chateau, so I don’t have a lot of first-hand info on the Glamping Tents. I walked by them and saw inside, and they were a bit smaller than I thought they would be.

It was also a bit of a hike to get to the bathroom by the pool, so I was glad I didn’t stay there. It’s not a good choice if you are the kind of person who has to use the bathroom in the middle of the night.

But they definitely offer a different kind of camp experience!

Exploring the Chateau Grounds

The grounds around Camp Chateau are beautiful! Flowers and fruits are everywhere, and they encourage picking and eating. There were tons of plums when we were there.

They have lots of lavender and you’ll find a little sachet in your tote bag for the purpose of filling with lavender. Bring this to the shop and you’ll be rewarded with a badge.

The flowers are big and colorful and just amazing. I took tons of photos of flowers while exploring.

There are two pools- the regular pool and then a quiet pool. There’s also a badminton net, large chess board, flower garden, vegetable and herb garden and a labyrinth.

Food and Wine at Camp Chateau

If you have a special diet or allergies, they do a really good job of making sure everyone gets what they need. You’ll be assigned a symbol, and your food will have a little flag that marks it with your symbol.

Breakfast

Breakfast is provided every morning, and it does not change. There are two coffee machines, and there is a fridge with assorted milk and milk substitutes and juice. Plus, some delicious yogurts in different flavors.

You also have access to cold water and ice 24-7.

For the breakfast, you’ll get assorted pastries and of course croissants! I think I’ve eaten enough croissants to last me a few years now. You also get fruits, hard-boiled eggs and slices of ham. And there is granola if you want to mix it with your yogurt.

It was hot during the day, but breakfast time was crisp, cool and beautiful. Having coffee every morning with an amazing view gets your day started off just right.

Lunch

Lunch is provided picnic style, in a basket with various choices, bread and rosé wine. You’ll have lunch with your bunkmates. There will also be buffet style lunches, and lunch on the last day is at a local place in town.

Dinner

Dinners are held in the main dining hall, and the first night you’ll be with your bunkmates, then they switch it up. For example, one night we all chose marbles as we entered, and we sat at the table that matched our marble.

Dinners were very good, with a lot of variety. Some were better than others, but overall, I enjoyed the meals.

There was usually a salad, main course, several sides, bread, wine and dessert. And before dinner they serve drinks and have music for a bit before we all sit down for the meal.

They have bottles of wine for sale, but they didn’t really point that out right away. So be aware that you can buy wine if you don’t like the table wine.

The sparkling wine, white and rose wines were very nice, but the red had a weird smell. I don’t know what was up with the red, as it tasted decent but smelled a bit like a horse. That’s the best way I can think of to describe it. The red consistently had a weird stink to it. (Sorry Camp Chateau! I love you, but the red wine smelled weird.)

They had a wine tasting one night, and that’s where I learned we can purchase wine. I highly recommend the Pinot Noir. My friend and I bought a bottle of that two nights in a row.

Camp Activities

There are so many different activities to choose from! If you want to go horseback riding or kayaking, sign up for those first on the first day as those spots go fast.

I usually managed to fit in two electives a day, but you can do more. I just didn’t want to be too busy and relax a bit.

You’ll have a chance to pick three activities on the first night to make sure you get your favorites, and then you can sign up when you want. If a class is full, you can also drop in and see if there’s a spot open.

Below is my well-worn Camp Chateau Program with all the activities available. One of my favorite activities I did was the Herbal Foraging. I learned a lot of about the plants around the camp and got to take a beautiful walk up the hiking trail.

All the classes are suitable for beginners. For example- I took the ceramics class, and it starts with a very basic lesson in making coils, pinch pots and slab building. I ended up making a snail because I kept seeing so many pretty snails everywhere.

And you also have the option to do absolutely nothing at all and just relax! You can lounge by the pool all day, find a quiet corner to read a book or wander around the beautiful grounds. You can be as busy or not busy as you like.

The activities are where you will earn many of your badges, and at the end you can sew them on your Chatote. (the cute name for your Camp Chateau tote bag)

Besides activities badges, there are badges for things like taking a nap, reading a book, journaling and wandering in the labyrinth.

And make sure you don’t miss the Silent Disco! We had so much fun dancing in the courtyard and didn’t want that one to end.

Laundry

Laundry day starts on Thursday, so be prepared for that. You can purchase a wash token and dry token for $3 each at the chateau shop and sign up for a specific time.

You can hang your clothes to dry, but it rained a little almost every day we were there, so I used the dryer.

They provide laundry soap, but I brought my own laundry soap and dryer sheets because I need unscented/sensitive skin products. (I use the laundry soap sheets from Happy Elephant. Great for traveling because you don’t have to worry about liquids. Click here to find them on Amazon.)

What to Pack for Camp Chateau

A big topic on the Facebook group for camp is what to pack. That’s going to depend on what time of year you are going and what activities you want to do.

Even if it is hot, bring a sweater or something warm. The mornings are chilly! The week before we went there was a big heatwave and I packed mostly for hot weather and wish I’d packed a bit warmer.

As a Florida girl that’s used to the heat, I didn’t even find it warm enough to go in the pool. I made it up to my knees in the freezing water and hopped out.

If you plan on kayaking, bring water shoes and clothes to get wet in. If you want to ride a horse, bring pants. And if you just want to wear pretty dresses and wander around taking pictures, you can do that too!

The Women at Camp Chateau

You will meet all different kinds of women, from all over the world, and all different ages. Such a wide variety!

Some are solo travelers, and some came with friends, but everyone is there to embrace the spirit of camp and have an amazing experience.

Also, the camp founders, workers, and class instructors are all extremely kind and helpful.

In fact, my camp experience got off to a rough start because somewhere in my travels I developed a blocked tear duct that got infected. It had started swelling pretty bad all around my eye by the second day of camp. By day three I knew I needed medical intervention.

I got online and found myself a telehealth doctor at Doctorsa.com, which I highly recommend! I was able to see a doctor that same day through Whatsapp, for about $45.

The doctor confirmed the blocked tear duct and e-mailed me a prescription I could use at any pharmacy. The camp co-founder Phillippa was able to pick up my medications that day at a pharmacy in town. It was all handled so well and everyone was so helpful. And I even got a badge for it at the end! lol

And all my meds, which ended up being antibiotic eye drops, and three boxes of steroid drops ended up costing just over $20. I was pretty impressed by the cost of healthcare there!

Would I Recommend Camp Chateau?

I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend this experience. It was such a unique experience overall and something I had never done before. I had never gotten to go to summer camp when I was little, so it was pretty new to me.

I think everyone can get something out of going to camp. You meet new people, learn new things, and maybe learn to take care of yourself a little more in the process.

And if you are thinking of going, don’t wait! Spots fill up fast so make your reservations early. It will definitely be an experience to remember.

And there is so much more to camp and the chateau that I didn’t cover here! I tried to hit all the highlights. Feel free to leave me questions if you have them. I’m happy to answer them.