Step inside
… You’ve arrived!
The Au Milieu des Fougères estate is like a painting by Ramiro Arrue or a poem by Verlaine, exuding exquisite calm and simplicity, an entire country embodied in a single place.
First, there is Sare, with its rather nonchalant motto “Saran Astia”, the place where you have time. This village, “the heart of the French Basque Country” as the great globetrotting novelist Pierre Loti put it, seems to be bathed in a mystical light with its own unique charm.
Then, there are the mountains: Axuria and Larrun, whose proud, wild, fern-shrouded peaks form a quite majestic landscape.
And last but not least, there is the house, the Au Milieu des Fougères estate, “ihartze artea” in Basque. A magnificent 17th-century Labourd farmhouse lovingly restored by Caroline and Franck Rigoux.
Inside the house, each space seems to take the visitor by the arm, speak to them, invite them to take their time.
The tree-filled park, with its happy blend of stone pines, plane trees, vines and banana trees, not to mention hortensias in flower from spring to autumn, oozes abundance, love, harmony and peace: an ideal setting for weddings and big events. As the day progresses, the shifting light changes the ambiance, like a succession of paintings in a rich palette of yellows, oranges and pinks.
The serene calm of a panoramic view over the Basque mountains, the warming presence of the rocky mass that is Larrun, the gentle beauty of the oak trees, the bare stone and the sisal, and the refined décor are like so many invitations to close your eyes and let your imagination wander.
Lose yourself in daydreams of pelota games, fandango dancers, txistus, and Basque songs. The fresco in the function room, a jewel of Basque art at the very heart of the house, offers an elegant blend of Art Deco and Neo-Cubism. Painted by Gaspar Montes Iturrioz in 1937, this priceless work lends the property an artistic and festive aura.
