Special Places to Stay - More than a bed for the night

In a pretty and unspoilt old Burgundian hamlet with quaint houses and a small chapel in the centre you are surrounded by flat agricultural plains. You stay tucked away behind a high wall and wooden gates in an independent long, low cottage built of pale field stone. There is a perfect little kitchen, bright white with red wraparound tiles, a swishly decorated living room with a wood-burner, pale fabric sofa and chairs with red and black scatter cushions, and a long dining table with high-backed modern chairs and a beamed ceiling. A back door leads out to the garden with a little pergola-covered terrace. One bedroom is on the ground floor with light colours, seagrass matting and a handsome Asian bedspread. The other two are upstairs with skylight windows and are more or less open-plan to each other – perfect for families. The bathroom is luxurious and brand new with double hand basins and a huge rounded bath tub. Find plenty of advice about street markets, fishing, cycling, vineyards, monuments and medieval villages. Good restaurants abound – or stay at home and fire up the barbie.