Lodging and Life in Argenton-Chateau - Housing, Meals, Getting Around, the Town, and the Weather
Housing for Courses in Argenton-Chateau
Argenton-Chateau features many large manor houses and villas, as
well as townhouses and small apartment buildings of every kind
and description, dating from the last 500 years.
In an effort to keep rent and utility costs low and predictable, virtually all Studio Escalier housing at our campus in
Argenton-Chateau is owned and operated by Studio Escalier. (One or two additional housing arrangements are
leased long-term to the school.)
A variety of fully furnished, fully outfitted lodging is thereby provided exclusively to our students, all
situated within walking distance of the course studio (most of it within 1000 feet/300 m).
Every effort has been made to provide the highest quality, fully furnished housing, at the lowest possible
price, to serve the most secure, undisturbed art educational opportunity possible.
All housing is therefore provided and assigned to students by the school.
As of Autumn 2011, shared 2BR housing costs in Argenton-Chateau will be included in the base tuition price of every
course held there.
These shared housing costs are not negotiable. Single housing assignments cost slightly more.
The cost of housing includes ALL utilities --electricity, heat, hot water, including wireless hi-speed DSL
internet access, but no landline phone service.)
Program housing is assigned to accepted Intensive Course students in the
order that their applications are received.
The majority of the housing currently offered by Studio Escalier are large,
loft-like 2BR apartments, shared with another student. A few private apartments
(1BR and 2BR) and small townhouses are also available for rent, for somewhat
higher cost. Please indicate your housing preferences in your application.
Beginning on March 15 (summer intensive) or July 1 (autumn intensive) -- i.e. after course enrollement is finalized -- specific housing options will be
assigned to accepted students, and housing leases will be signed.
If you have special housing needs or concerns (no smoking? allergies? expecting guests? family members? etc.)
please let us know when you make your application.
Please Note: Those students wishing to receive non-student guests, or to bring family
guests are warned that:
1) Most program housing is unsuitable for guests. Our housing network only exists to serve the excellence of our
art program. Studio Escalier cannot and does not provide the service or accommodation one might expect
from a tourist hotel, hostel or B & B.
2) Individual students receive priority in housing assignments, and flatmates retain the right to refuse your guests.
3) Non-student guests are therefore welcome only under very specific conditions. Family members are requested to
schedule their dates during housing assignment, to be assessed a lower fee.
All other guests must define the
length of their stay, and are subject to a 20 euros/night fee,
due in full upon arrival. Please notify us of any
family housing needs at the time of your application, or if you wish to receive frequent guests.
4) Our one-week, mid-session summer break is the ideal time for family visits,
getaways and vacations.
Note: Argenton-Chateau is not an important tourist destination in itself, for non-students.
5) Pet-friendly housing is generally in very short supply. Sorry, no pets are allowed in shared housing.
Housing Contracts, Security Deposits and Cleaning
All housing contracts in Argenton-Chateau cover the full length of the course,
including a few days on either end, to guarantee a comfortable entry and a dignified exit.
See the appropriate
application PDF for the precise entry/exit dates of your course.
The state of your lodging is verified and witnessed upon entry and exit. A 250 euros cash security deposit is
requested upon arrival, to be returned by wire or check after your departure.
(Deposit amount may vary for private housing.)
All students are responsible for cleaning their own house, and returning
it in the condition it was received.
Meals
There is no meal plan, self-sufficiency is expected of every student. We will take a two-hour
lunch break as part of our everyday schedule.
All lodging comes with its own kitchen or kitchen privileges.
The town offers a good variety of food
services: supermarket, weekly farmer's market (including fresh and/or organic produce, cheeses, seafood, etc),
butcher, bakery/patisserie, cafe/bar, and lake-side restaurant.
Getting Around
Located as it is -- in a very tranquil, small, completely self-sufficient town -- the program
is designed for minimal commuting expense and maximum concentration. It is a great place
to walk, jog, hike, bike --- and draw and paint!
Please see our
TRAVEL and
FAQS pages for details on the best transport stations (trains and buses),
as well as links to public bus schedules, information on entry/final exit shuttlebuses, local taxis
and rental cars.
There is no public transport in or out of Argenton-Chateau on Saturday or Sunday
In light of this situation, Studio Escalier has designed its weekly studio schedule to
run Sunday through Thursday. The 3-month program takes its weekends on Friday and Saturday.
Full details on the easiest day-trips and "studio weekend" getaway options are on the TRAVEL page.
The Town
Argenton-Chateau is the largest of four contiguous medieval towns
that now comprise the municipality of Argenton-les-Vallees (population ~3000).
It is a pleasant and tranquil market town in the bocage area of Poitou-Charentes.
Poitou-Charentes is a sunny region in southwestern
France best known for its medieval art and architecture, and as the birthplace of cognac.
It is the region directly north of Bordeaux, and directly south of the Loire Valley.
Argenton-Chateau and its surrounding villages have been continuously inhabited since at least the 8th century AD.
The town sits atop a natural granite fortification, with rivers on three sides. The private chapel of the chateau is home to the largest
and oldest medieval fresco in our area, a mid-10th century Christ in Majesty. Owing to our location on a contemporaneous pilgrim trail to Santiago de Compostela,
the work shows the strong influence of Spanish Byzantine art.
Archaeological evidence indicates the town was inhabited as part of Roman Gaul (100 AD), and suggests it has been
a human settlement since
Upper Paleolithic times (30,000 BC), the so-called Magdalenian period that painted the caves of Lascaux, Roc aux Sorciers, Les Eyzies
and Chauvet-Pont D'Arc.
Today, Argenton-Chateau is the educational center of a 500 km2, wildlife-protected and historically registered
"Vallee de Caractere", a verdant spot in the heart of France's "Grande Ouest" economic corridor (Tours, Angers, Poitiers, Nantes).
Argenton-Chateau's schools enroll around 800 students, from pre-school to age 15.
The town features an 11th c. Romanesque church (still in service), the eponymous medieval chateau, a small music
school, two primary and two middle schools, a public swimming pool with tennis courts,
miles of scenic hiking and biking trails, and a small lake
(lake-side restaurant, fishing and canoeing/kayaking).
All the services and businesses of small town life are within walking distance: supermarket with newsstand, bakery and butcher,
Thursday farmer's market (meats, fish, produce, cheese, flowers), patisserie, flower shop, local and international banks
(Caisse d'Epargne, Credit Agricole), insurance and government offices, post office, cabinetmaker, carpenters, masons and other contractors,
coiffeurs, cafe-bar, tabac, lake-side restaurant, cinema, Peugeot dealer and automobile repair, taxi service, gas stations,
pharmacy, physicians and dentist (English spoken).
The biggest farmer's market nearby is held every Friday in Thouars (20 minutes by bus, 3 euros round-trip, Friday mornings only)
The nearest big hardware store and organic food co-op are in Bressuire (20 minutes by car, 30 minutes by Ligne 43 bus).
The local salle communale offers a
varied schedule of after-school activities primarily for children.
Activities and Festivities
Argenton-Chateau is a very humble, quiet town, and is deeply conducive to our daily studio work.
Bounded by two small rivers protected as wild bird sanctuaries and nature reserves, and surrounded beyond by
small orchards and other farms, it is not locally considered an important tourist destination in itself.
Our celebrations of the summer solstice (June 21) have included Baroque chamber ensembles, Renaissance singing through the streets, bonfires, live Cuban dance music, and/or fireworks
on the main square. Every year is different.
Other musical events on the cultural calendar include an annual Women's Choir Congress, attracting groups from all over France, and
regular meetings of Cerflodanse, our departmental traditional dance association.
Annually, there are two town fairs in Argenton-Chateau itself, one in early August and another in late September. They
mainly center on a convivial day-long celebration of
local wines, cheese and other produce taken as a meal -- enjoyed by up to 1000 people -- under the pavilion on the main square.
Studio Escalier students are warmly welcomed at these events.
Other very local attractions include mussel and escargots festivals, in July and August.
The Office de Tourisme in town is open five days a week, and offers information on current events in the entire department (Deux-Sevres, 79).
Many other small cities and chateaux nearby invite daytrips of all descriptions, and for all
tastes. For example, the city of Saumur, one of the most visited sites of the Loire Valley,
and well-known for its excellent wines, is found 45 minutes northeast.
The towns of Bressuire, Mauleon, Maulevrier, Cholet, Les Epesses, Thouars, Parthenay, Montreuil-Bellay, and Doue-la-Fontaine are all a similar or shorter distance away,
and merit a visit, each for their own reason. (Annual outdoor sculpture competition, Puy du Fou summer spectacles,
nationally ranked contemporary art museum, traditional markets, castles and caves, jazz fests, largest Oriental garden
in Europe, marvelous zoos and animal parks, fine Michelin-ranked restaurants, etc)
For those who rent cars for the weekend, we are also close to the heart of French chateau country
(Angers, Oiron, Chinon, Villandry, Tours, Chenonceau, Amboise, etc) and the wines of Anjou and the Touraine.
The Weather
Current conditions in Argenton-Chateau, France (79150):
On paper, our region in France -- Poitou-Charentes -- is second only to the Cote d'Azur in average annual
number of sunny days. But average temperatures are very mild.
Argenton-Chateau enjoys a pleasant micro-climate similar to that of the Saumur-Champigny and Chinon wine regions
(situated less than one hour directly east-northeast - ENE.)
Summers and winters in Argenton-Chateau are historically very mild, on average. Winter snow is very rare.
For the current weather conditions in Argenton-Chateau, click
here.
Peak summer daylight on June 21 sees sunrise at 5:30 AM, and sundown at 10:45 PM.
That being said, the Summer in Argenton-Chateau may be anything from chilly to very hot
in temperature (50° - 100° F/ 10° - 38° C), with highly variable conditions. (sunny,
spectacular thunderstorms, heat wave, hail, drought, endless cold rain, or chilly and breezy).
About summer, the locals have started saying,"The extremes are the new normal."
SUMMER 2010 was generally mild, with very little rain. Late June was hot, but overall temps averaged near 70° F (21° C).
Summer 2009 was bright, calm and mild, with very occasional showers, and average highs again near 78° F.
Summer 2008 was highly variable, much like Summer 2007 conditions, but a bit warmer on average, 78° F.
Summer 2007 was rainy, windy and wet. Average high temperatures were unusually cold, in the low 70s (21° C).
Summer 2006 was very mild and spring-like, with one very hot spell for two weeks in the end of July.
Summer 2005 saw the worst drought in 40 years, with no rain at all, and daily high
temperatures in the low 80s.
Summer 2004 was among the coolest and wettest in decades, with many continuous weeks of cold rain.
Summer 2003 was the hottest summer ever recorded - 10 continuous days of weather over 100° F (38° C).
Autumn in Argenton-Chateau is anything from chilly to perfect in temperature (45 - 80° F),
with predictably variable conditions. (early morning mist, strong winds, bright sunny afternoons, rain overnight)
Autumn 2010 was alot like Autumn 2009.
Autumn 2009 featured mild misty mornings, and warm, sunny afternoons.
Autumn 2008 remained unusually cold. Brisk and windy, but mostly dry weather.
Autumn 2007 was -- like the summer -- unusually cold. Chilly misty mornings, with brisk but sunny afternoons
Autumn 2006 featured mild misty mornings, and warm, sunny afternoons.
Autumn 2005, 2004, and 2003 can all be fairly described as "Indian summers",
featuring predominantly lovely, mild weather through the beginning of November.
The month of November trends increasingly toward blustery rain, and the Autumn course now ends before we change
our clocks for daylight savings time, and long before the annual November rains start.
