This Women’s-only Summer Camp in the French Countryside Had a 10,000-person Waitlist

Within 24 hours of content creator Allison Wolf posting a reel of her time at Camp Château, both Kimberly Green and Lindsey Zurn had booked a stay at the women’s-only camp in southern France this summer.

The post, which has more 24 million views to date, is a mood board of the French country idyll: days spent swishing around a fairy-tale medieval château in floaty dresses with a never-ending glass of rosé. Wolf spoke of waking up to deer grazing in the fields each morning and participating in a pick-and-mix style of activities, including horseback riding, kayaking, yoga, and making jam.

“I stayed at a women’s-only summer camp at a château in the French countryside, and yes, it was as dreamy and magical as it sounds,” Wolf said in the reel. She called it “the most relaxing, wholesome travel experience.”

“Once I saw Allison’s Instagram reel, I knew the camp was going to go viral, so I booked immediately—within 30 minutes,” Green, a 31-year-old art director from New York, told Travel + Leisure. She forwarded it to her friend, Zurn, who also booked on the same day.

For Zurn, the camp felt refreshingly different from a typical vacation. With their departure quickly approaching, she’s “excited to disconnect from everyday stresses, connect with new people, and immerse [herself] in everything from French lessons to cooking and art—all while living in the French countryside.”

Five days after Wolf’s post, Camp Château was officially sold out for 2025. Last summer, it had more than 10,000 women on its waitlist. When 2026 dates were released at the end of summer 2024, the season sold out in seven minutes (900 places over nine weeks).

Camp Château’s founder, Philippa Girling, admits the incredible popularity of the camp has taken her by surprise. Born in the United Kingdom and having lived in Los Angeles for three decades, she and her children had fallen for a château for sale in the village of Béduer, north of Toulouse in the little-known but thoroughly enchanting Lot Valley, a place where she vacationed as a child. “We didn’t need a château, but we felt like women did, so we quickly went from falling in love with the building to a conversation about a summer camp for women where they could come to this beautiful part of France and just be,” she told T+L.

Girling has hit on a winning formula: a magical setting, completely removed from the everyday; activities women can dip in and out of as they wish; and the chance to bond with other women—all in a safe, judgement-free environment.

“Our mission was to create this lovely, relaxing space where women could come and feel like they could take off all the masks they have to wear and not work on themselves because they were already awesome,” Girling explained.

Attendees either sleep in bunks in the château or glamping tents on the grounds. It’s capped at 50 people per session, but a second property opening in a similarly fairy-tale French setting, in the Ariège region of southwest France, in 2026 will hopefully ease some of the pressure on the waitlist.

Made up of solo travelers, groups of friends, and mother-daughter duos, around 80 percent of the campers are from North America, and the demographic is broad. “We have people coming in their 20s and their late 70s,” she said. “We have a lot of young women at the feet of older women, listening to their wisdom, and older women hearing younger women share their enthusiasm and energy for life.”

Girling said the best side of people comes out over the course of the camp. “When you take 50 women, put them together, and tell them they are enough and that they deserve a break, they are incredibly kind to each other,” she said.

Camp Château may be the original, but others are now popping up around France following the same premise: for women only, with an emphasis on curating your own experience in an enchanting French setting. Less than three hours from Paris, Château du Tremblay has been in Louis d’Armaillé’s family since it was built in the mid-14th century. With partner Lua Andersen, the pair has their first women’s-only summer camps planned for later this year.

“We’re going to offer a lot of creative activities: painting, cooking classes, French lessons, and crafts where you can decorate your own picture frames, hair clips, hairbrushes—small items you can bring home as memories,” said Andersen. What’s more, the family has its own vineyard, so plenty of wine tastings and tours will also be on the schedule.

Anderson, who is currently juggling setting up the camps with a corporate job in Paris, says the château is where she reconnects with nature and recharges her batteries on weekends—and wants others to feel its magic. “It’s a place where you can do a lot of things you would never do in your everyday life,” she added. Like Camp Château, Château du Tremblay’s summer camps will last five days. Guests will sleep in one of the property’s 17 bedrooms in groups of two or three, though single rooms will also be possible.

If there was one corner of France primed for such an experience, it’s the lavender-scented landscapes of Provence. In an aristocratic residence near Cassis on the Mediterranean coast, Camp Joli is prepping itself for its second season.

Among the inaugural attendees last year was Meagan Rose, who visited with a group of content creators in September 2024. “I had no idea what to expect. I just knew I was going to stay in this beautiful castle, and it truly changed my life,” she said.

“Every day, you had the opportunity to choose your own journey, whether you wanted to sign up for every activity or sit back and relax by the pool all day,” she added. Horseback riding, baking bread, excursions to local villages, and a watercolor painting class were some of the electives Rose participated in.

Her best memories, however, are the friendships she created. “I genuinely believe I’ve found lifelong friends through this, and I’m still in touch with these girls to this day. I’m so grateful I got to experience it,” she said.

Arguably what’s also driving the popularity of these camps is value for money. Six days, five nights at Camp Château in 2026 costs €2,400 ($2,800), a price that includes accommodations, meals, snacks, beverages, three-plus electives per day, and two-plus excursions. Meanwhile, Camp Joli starts from €1,999 (about $2,350) for accommodations, meals (prepared by a private chef), and electives. Five nights at Château du Tremblay will set you back €1,950 ($2,200), also including accommodations, meals, and activities.