A stunning villa set in 7 acres of land in a quiet, private location minutes from local villages and towns. Beautifully finished and maintained, it offers perfectly balanced accommodation for family gatherings and quiet retreats. This villa is full of character and charm at every turn and offers a wonderful lifestyle opportunity.

Accommodation

This beautiful split-level villa has a wonderful feeling of peace and tranquillity with a carefully considered layout for entertaining and family life. Every room has an unspoiled view of the gardens providing residents and guests the perfect opportunity for a quiet moment to relax and enjoy the surroundings. For social moments the hub of the home is the terrace, kitchen and living room with plenty of space for al fresco dining on the sunny terrace or in the shade of the trees.

Architect designed for the original owner, the villa is built to a high standard with beautiful custom carpentry.  Throughout the villa there are signature arched windows, doors and shutters with hand cut bevelled glass in the internal doors. This attention to detail and the high quality finish add a wonderful sense of character to the villa.

The bright, open entrance hall leads to the main reception rooms and terrace. The sitting room is dual aspect with double doors onto the main terrace. Arched windows overlook the landscaped garden with year-round colour.

The kitchen features a long wooden sit-up island with a wood burning stove and doors onto the main terrace. This room is perfect for communal cooking with space for people to sit and chat as you prepare a meal with the wonderfully fresh food available locally.

Down a few steps from the hallway there’s a large dining room with seating for 12, a wood-burning stove and covered balcony overlooking the garden. Perfect for formal dining or cooler days.

Away from the reception space are the 4 double bedrooms. The dual aspect main suite includes a bathroom with separate shower, access to the main terrace and gorgeous views over the gardens.

The 3^rd bedroom has a bathroom alongside and a wonderful private terrace overlooking the grounds and signature topiary juniper tree.

Bedroom 2 is up the bespoke wooden staircase from the main hallway and includes a large en-suite shower room, walk-in wardrobe and mezzanine area ideal for relaxing. Bedroom 4 is a modest double with the family bathroom nearby.

Additionally there is a 630 bottle wine cellar, games room, ski store, pigeonnier at the top of the house, garage and ample storage throughout.

Grounds

The main garden wraps around the house and is beautifully manicured with 2 signature topiary juniper trees and mature shrubs providing year round colour and shade. The 10 metre heated pool is a few steps down from the house with wrap-around terracing.

Beyond the rear garden there are acres of private forest growing cep (porcini) mushrooms. The forest provides a wonderful privacy screen and is ideal for shaded walks.

There is driveway parking for plenty of cars.

Location

Drudas, Haute-Garonne is in the Occitanie region of South West France. The region’s capital city of Toulouse is 40 minutes away by car and the area is dotted with charming villages and towns, ideal for days out with guests and shopping for fresh local food and treats.

Drudas is in the Fronton wine region. Between Toulouse and Montauban this region is defined by the Negrette/Pinot St George grape, producing velvety tannins ideal for red and rose wines. The local grocery shop – Tutti Frutti – in Drudas offers some lovely local wines, or slightly further afield there are vineyards to explore.

The Pyrenees are 2 hours drive away with fantastic skiing in the winter months. There are also some wonderful hiking areas within 2 hours with stunning views.

Transport links

Toulouse airport is 35 minutes away with regular flights to major European cities.

Hire cars are available at the airport or a taxi to the villa costs around €90.

Seller Insight

We bought the villa 12 years ago as a retreat for family and friends and it’s given us so many incredible moments over the years. We spend a lot of time here, sometimes in couples or small groups to relax, or with larger groups for special occasions when we make good use of the space and privacy for parties and entertaining.

Sometimes we’ve come here and spent an entire week milling about on the property. Breakfast is yoghurt, honey and figs followed by a swim in the pool, an afternoon stroll through the forest looking for cep (porcini) mushrooms and drinks on the terrace of an evening. The sky is so clear here, it’s a rare wonder we’ve very much appreciated.

When we’re entertaining, we venture to the nearby towns for a wander and to pick up fresh treats – there are wonderful boulangeries and patisseries of course. Grenade is one of our favourites, the Saturday market in the town square is vibrant with a great choice of local goods. The square has great cafes and restaurants all around. We’re greeted like old friends and can sit for hours watching locals go about their day.

Sarrant is gorgeous, it’s a medieval village built in a circular pattern, well worth a wander and a stop for coffee and tart au citron. Our local town Cadours centre has a fresh vegetable, fruit and cheese store with a good selection of wines, the proprietor knows his stuff and makes great wine recommendations. The restaurant in Chateau de Drudas is popular for fine dining, the gardens are gorgeous so it’s a great spot for special occasions when you’d rather not cook.  All this is within 10 minutes of the house. We have seclusion with everything we need a short drive away, it’s the best of both worlds really.

There are several noteworthy restaurants nearby, our favourites are Le Puits Saint Jacques which is a fabulous fine dinging  restaurant, Le Lac du Bistroquet and Entrecote in Toulouse, it’s quite well known with sister sites in Paris, Barcelona and London. The food is fantastic so we always take guests there, people queue out of the door for a table and it’s worth the wait!

We love to ski, and we love the sea, we look forward to the second week in December when the Grandvalira ski domain in the Pyrenees openes for the ski season, we have a preferred cozy hotel Sport Hotel Hermitage & Spa at the foot of the slopes in Soldeu, a pleasant 2 and a half hours drive away, now connected to one of the worlds largest ski areas, where we are always welcomed warmly; also amazing for hiking in the summer. From May onwards we love taking trips to the Mediterranean coast, the small town of Collioure is our favourite, with its delightful sea front restaurants, also an easy 2 and a half hours drive away.

Our time here has been a wonderful investment in and for our family with memories to last a lifetime. The children are grown now with less time to visit so we feel it’s time to let the house go to another family to make special memories of their own.