A Five-Day Creative Salon in a French Chateau
Normandy, France · September 13–19 · Six Spots Left From $4,350 · Historic Chateau · 12–16 Guests · No experience required
Normandy, France
Limited to 12–16 guests
From $4,350 USD
payment plans available
September 13-19, 2026—Six Spots Left
Historic Chateau Estate in Normandy
Hosted by Catherine Richards
A Creative Salon in Normandy.
A Week of French Country Living:
Butter. Flowers. Clay. Fire. Coast.
In Normandy, the art of living is not a philosophy. It is a daily practice.
Wide skies. Cream and apples and cider. Stone villages and white cliffs. Gardens in full bloom. Fires lit at dusk. Long meals that stretch past any reason to leave.
Hosted within a historic château set on a private Normandy estate, this seven-day retreat is designed around a single question: what does it mean to live beautifully?
Through cooking, flowers, ceramics, drawing, coastal excursions, and the slow rhythm of château life, guests are invited to step out of urgency and into presence — to practice the French art of being fully, deliberately alive.
Each day follows the rhythm of the estate: mornings in the gardens and ateliers, afternoons in the Norman countryside, evenings gathered around the table.
This is not a workshop. It is an immersion in a way of life.
A creative journey through the French countryside designed around the art of living — with daily salons, creative workshops, and artistic experiences that invite you to live the French way.
What's Included?
Every detail curated so you can arrive, exhale, and live beautifully.
Château accommodations (shared or private room)
Chef-prepared Norman meals throughout the week
Daily creative ateliers — cooking, floral, ceramics, drawing, and more
Cider and calvados tasting
Guided cultural excursions into Normandy
Art materials, sketchbook, and creative kit
Bonfires, music, and evening rituals
Small group of 8–12
*Flight and transportation are not included.
Who This Is For?
For artists, writers, designers, curious travelers, and thoughtful individuals seeking beauty, inspiration, and a deeper way of experiencing France.
"I know this experience is going to change the next chapter of my life.”
- Lisa, 2026
Catherine Richards, M.Arch.
Founder · Creative Director · Art Immersions.
I'm Catherine — a designer, artist, Parsons professor, and founder of Art Immersions.
For years I've led creative programs in France and around the world built around art, atmosphere, conversation, and cultural experience. What interests me most is how beauty changes perception — how certain places, meals, objects, music, and conversations reconnect us to creativity, presence, and feeling.
I created Art Immersions to bring people into that experience more deeply — not simply to visit France, but to live it differently.
I've led creative journeys in Paris, Siena, and Jaipur. Normandy is one of the places I return to again and again. The light is different here. The pace is different. I hope to share it with you.
"This was one of the most memorable experiences in my life."
- Linda, 2026
Why join this experience?
To experience France not as a tourist but as someone who belongs there
To learn the rhythms of French country living — table, garden, craft, and light
To spend a week with thoughtful, curious people
To slow down and feel present again
To return home with a different relationship to beauty and time
This experience is for you if:
You feel creatively blocked or disconnected
You want more than tourism — something that stays with you
You crave beauty, depth, and genuine inspiration
You want to meet like-minded, thoughtful individuals
You're ready for a real reset — creatively and emotionally
Because beauty is not a luxury — it’s how we remember who we are. This experience is designed for the creatively curious: artists, writers, designers, travelers, and seekers who crave time to breathe and reconnect.
Join Us in Normandy
12–16 guests total · Historic Norman Château · Payment plans available
Shared accommodations within a historic Norman château set on a private 80-hectare estate. Wake to birdsong and the smell of coffee, share mornings with fellow travellers, and move through a week of art, cuisine, and château life together.
- Château shared accommodations
- Chef-prepared Norman meals throughout the week
- All creative ateliers — cooking, flowers, ceramics & more
- Cider and calvados tasting
- Guided Norman coastal excursions
- Sketchbook, art materials & creative kit
- Bonfires, music & evening rituals
Very limited shared rooms available. This retreat is intentionally intimate and typically fills through early applications and referrals.
Reserve Shared RoomYour own private room within the château — a quiet sanctuary to journal, reflect, and absorb the rhythm of Normandy. All the connection of the retreat, with space to return to yourself.
- Château private room accommodations
- Chef-prepared Norman meals throughout the week
- All creative ateliers — cooking, flowers, ceramics & more
- Cider and calvados tasting
- Guided Norman coastal excursions
- Sketchbook, art materials & creative kit
- Bonfires, music & evening rituals
Private rooms are extremely limited and are expected to sell out first. Once filled, only shared accommodations will remain available.
Reserve Private RoomSpaces are intentionally limited to preserve the intimacy and atmosphere of the experience.
What Our Guests Have to Say
“Before this trip, I felt deeply disconnected from my creative self. But over the course of the week, I met a need in me I didn’t even realize was there. For the first time in a very long time, I feel more like myself again. I know this experience is going to change the next chapter of my life.” — Lisa, 2026
- Arrive to our artistic residence in the heart of Paris.
- Gentle Montmartre walk to settle into the city’s rhythm and light.
- Welcome dinner with seasonal cuisine, conversation, and connection.
- Optional visit to the Decorative Arts Museum.
Your Home in Normandy
Guests stay within a historic château and manor house set on a private 80-hectare estate in Normandy — two hours and forty minutes from Paris by train, three hours by car.
The estate offers generous grounds: gardens, walking paths, open sky, and the wide, quiet horizon that defines Normandy. Breakfast is served in the dining room. Dinners are long. Evenings are lit.
The château is not revealed in full until after you reserve — we share complete details with confirmed guests. What we can tell you is that it is exactly what you imagine when you imagine a Norman château.
Travel:
2h40 from Paris by train
3h from Paris by car
Transportation within Normandy is not included. Rental cars, vans, and local guides are available nearby.
Ready to Join us at the Chateau?
FAQ
I’m thinking of coming alone… is that okay?
Yes — and most guests do. This is a very welcoming, intimate group, and many arrive solo and leave with meaningful friendships and a strong sense of connection.
What does the trip feel like?
Each retreat is designed as a living experience: slow, sensory, and deeply nourishing. Mornings begin with creative ateliers in and around the château. Afternoons carry you into the Norman countryside — coast, cliffs, villages, and markets. Evenings gather around the table and the fire. Structured enough to feel held. Spacious enough to feel free.
What kind of people join?
Curious and creative individuals looking to reconnect to themselves and renew inspiration. This retreat attracts artists, designers, writers, and curious travelers from all walks of life. No experience is required — only a desire to live more artfully. Whether you’re a practicing creative or simply seeking renewal, you’ll find a circle of kindred spirits who share your love for beauty, conversation, and discovery. People join from all over the world. You do not need to be a professional artist. Only curious, open, and ready to live more artfully.
Do I need to be an artist or have experience?
Not at all.. There are no expectations of output — only invitations to presence. This experience is designed for all levels — from complete beginners to practicing artists in all fields. The focus is not on technical skill, but on creativity, perception, and expression.
What's a typical day like?
Morning: creative atelier, cooking class, or garden workshop.
Afternoon: Norman excursion, free time, or estate exploration.
Evening: chef dinner, bonfire, music, or conversation.
The pace is spacious and intentional. It is structured — but never rigid.
Where will we stay?
A historic private estate in Normandy with formal gardens, a château and manor house, and 80 hectares of private land. We share complete details — including the address and photos — with confirmed guests.
How do i get to Normandy?
Most guests fly into Paris (CDG or Orly) and take a train or private car to Normandy — approximately 2h40 by train. We can also arrange a group van for guests. Once you register you'll receive full travel guidance.
What is the typical age range?
Guests are typically mid-20s to 50s+. What matters most is not age, but a shared desire for creativity, beauty, and meaningful experience.
Payment plans?
Yes. Reserve with a $500 deposit, pay in full, or choose a monthly payment plan.
What about flights and meals?
Most meals are included — breakfasts daily, most lunches, and all dinners. Some afternoons include independent time in local villages and towns. Flights and personal transportation are not included.
The French art of living through the senses. Butter. Flowers. Clay. Fire. Coast.
What You Will Take Home
By the end of five days, guests typically leave with:
A meal they cooked by hand — in the château kitchen using Norman butter, cream, apples, and seasonal produce. A recipe and a memory.
An arrangement they made — flowers gathered from the estate and arranged in the Norman tradition. A practice that continues long after the château.
An object from the earth — a ceramic piece made by their own hands during the clay atelier. Small, personal, and irreplaceable.
Normandy itself — the cliffs, the light, the coast, the silence of wide-open fields. A place that stays.
A sketchbook and creative kit — filled throughout the week with drawings, notes, impressions, and collected textures from the estate and the Norman countryside.
Meaningful friendships — the group is small and carefully chosen. Most guests arrive solo and leave with a circle of women they stay in touch with long after Normandy.
But the thing guests talk about most isn't the cooking, or the cliffs, or even the château.
It's the feeling of having slowed down — of having lived, for one full week, at a different pace. One that felt like the right pace. The French one.
Exceptional Journeys in
Art & Culture
Art Immersions
Creative journeys combining art, architecture, design, food, music, and literature to reconnect you to beauty, presence, and creativity.