A gîte near Livarot for a stay
in cheese country
About twenty minutes’ drive from Livarot, Le Hameau des Prés-Verts welcomes you at Les Champeaux, in the Orne. You can set off to explore the Village Fromager, browse the market, then return to your holiday home to cook with what the region has to offer.
Reinette Grise sleeps up to 6 and the Chalet Normand up to 4. Their fitted kitchens let you carry your food discoveries on over a few days, or over a longer holiday in the Pays d’Auge.
Planning a visit to the Village Fromager
Discovering the craft of Livarot
The Village Fromager of the Graindorge cheese dairy is a good place to understand how Normandy cheeses are made. The visit brings you close to the cheesemakers’ work and to the history of these specialities. Contact the site directly for opening times, access conditions and the times when cheesemaking can be seen.
If this visit is the highlight of your stay, choose your time slot before planning the rest of the day. You can then keep some time for Livarot itself and for anything you would like to take back to the gîte.
Adding the Thursday market to your outing
Livarot market is held on Thursday mornings under the covered hall on place Pasteur. It lets you round off a cheese visit with other local produce. Bring a cool bag if you carry on with your day before heading back to the Hameau.
Putting together several food outings
Livarot and Camembert can become two separate stops on your holiday. Giving a morning to each leaves time to visit, choose your produce and enjoy the house. Apple juice and cider makers complete the trail, depending on when they are able to welcome visitors.
The pleasure then carries on in your kitchen: tossing a salad, laying out a cheeseboard and eating outside when the weather allows. This is one of the joys of a house of your own, for getting to know the local terroir at your own pace.
Choosing your house for the stay
At Reinette Grise, meals are shared beneath the beams or out in the large private garden. The house has two bedrooms, including a master suite. At the Chalet Normand, the open kitchen leads out to the terrace; the two bedrooms with double beds open one into the other.
The Chalet has a heated pool reserved for its guests during the season. Pets are welcome in both houses, and breakfast can be booked as an optional extra. On your own or as a couple, you can pick either one, depending on the atmosphere you are after.
Getting to Livarot from Les Champeaux
The Hameau is at 1258 chemin des Manis, 61120 Les Champeaux. Journey times to Livarot vary with the route and the traffic. Parking on site is free; a car makes it easier to travel between producers and villages.