The waitlist for this women-only summer camp in the French countryside was 10,000 people long

Allison Wolf created content within 24 hours. 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, you can expect to see a lot of rain.

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 talked about waking each morning up to see deer grazing the fields, and doing a variety of activities including yoga, horseback-riding, kayaking and jam-making.

“I stayed at a women’s-only summer camp at a château in the French countrysideWolf said it in the reel. “It was just as magical and as dreamy as you would imagine,” he added. She described it as “the most relaxing and 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 sent it to Zurn who had also made a booking on the same date.

Zurn found the camp to be refreshingly different than a typical vacation. She’s excited to “disconnect from everyday stress, connect with new friends, and immerse” as their departure is fast approaching. [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 The entire stock of 2025 is sold out. It had over 10,000 women waiting on its list last summer. The season was sold out within seven minutes when the 2026 dates were announced at the end summer 2024.

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 She told T+L that she would like women to be able to just relax in this beautiful region of France.

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.

Girling said, “Our mission was create a lovely, relaxing environment where women can come and feel that they can take off all of the masks they wear and not have to work on themselves as they are already awesome.”

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.

Solo travelers, groups of friends and families are all included in this category. mother-daughter duosAround 80 percent of campers come from North America and their demographics are diverse. She said that people in their 20s to their 70s were coming. “There are many young women who listen to older women’s wisdom and hear older women sharing their energy and enthusiasm for life.

Girling believes that people’s best qualities come to the surface during the course of the program. She said that when you put 50 women together and tell them to take a break and they are enough, they become incredibly kind.

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. Three hours or less from Paris Château du Tremblay has been in Louis d’Armaillé’s family since it was built in the mid-14th century. Together with Lua Andersen they plan to launch their first women-only camps later this summer.

“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. There will be wine tastings, tours, and even cooking classes.

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. She added, “It is a place that you can do many things you wouldn’t do in your daily life.” Like Camp Château, Château du Tremblay’s summer camps will last five days. The 17 bedrooms can be rented by groups of 2 or 3 people, but single rooms are also available.

If there is one place in France that’s primed to offer such an experience, then it would be the lavender-scented landscapes of Provence. In an aristocratic villa near Cassis along the Mediterranean coast. Camp Joli It is getting ready for its second year.

The inaugural attendees of last year included Meagan Rose, who visited in September 2024 with a group composed of content creators. “I did not know what to anticipate. She said, “I just knew that I was going stay in this beautiful Castle and it really changed my life.”

She added, “You could choose to do every activity you wanted or just relax and enjoy the pool.” Rose took part in electives such as horseback riding, baking, trips to local villages and watercolor painting.

The friendships that she formed are her best memories. “I truly believe that I have made lifelong friendships through this and I am still in contact with these girls today. “I’m so glad I got to do it,” she said.

The value of these camps may also be a factor in their popularity. 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.