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

A lovely place with delightful owners. Monsieur, an antique dealer with artistic inklings, studied art in Tours some 40 years ago, met Madame – and here they are in their charming house. Beside it, the dear little 18th-century vine-workers’ cottage has been decorated with restraint in traditional rustic style. Inside, it is as warm and relaxing as your hosts. The furniture is country antique, the walls are plain, the old tiles gleam. From the mantel above the sitting room fire, great-great grandparents look down on cosy armchairs and pretty rugs; bedrooms are two up, one down. There’s antique crockery in the kitchen/dining room, and good garden furniture in the large enclosed garden – all yours. Madame is lucky, her husband is also a passionate gardener and happily digs and delves, bringing peace to the outside as well; his mini-Villandry is a marvel; the woods hold box trees once harvested for regimental buttons. Beyond the stone walls of the grounds is the Loire valley with its vineyards and châteaux and the classy city of Tours with shops, opera and great restaurants (simpler auberges lie nearby).