The Sleeping Beauty Chateau de Gudanes

Welcome to the Good Life France podcast.

What if you were to browse the internet and see a photo of a neglected castle in the south of France, a ruin for sure but with a faded grandeur that pulls at your heart strings… Would you be tempted to give up your dream of a little house in the country and throw everything you have into restoring the huge castle to its former glory?

A castle that’s just magical

Live without electricity for many years? Chop wood to keep the fire going so you don’t freeze in winter as the snow falls all around and the bitter wind blows down from the Pyrenees Mountains? Give up your comfy life and a good job in Perth, Australia? Learn how to speak French and take on the mother of all restorations? That’s what Karina Waters and her family did when they bought the Chateau de Gudanes.

This is an extraordinary story, one that has captured the imagination of millions around the world. We talk to Karina about life at the chateau, its history and ability to enchant all who see it, and how restoring it has brought a sleeping beauty back to life.

Website: chateaudegudanes.com Instagram: chateaugudanes

And in the Q&A section we answer a question from Sasha Watkins, London, UK “What’s the most popular cheese in France?”

If you have a question about France just nip on to the home page, Home category and click on contact us or fill in the form here – we’ll do our best to answer!

Tune into discover authentic, historic and gastronomic France with your hosts: Brit Janine Marsh author of four international best-selling books about life in France and Frenchman Olivier, a radio presenter in Lyon, share everything France and more through this podcast…

Find the podcast and transcript here on Buzzsprout