Le Relais de Scissé, Saône-et-Loire
Fittingly for a former post house, this place always delivers. Four of the five bedrooms look out on the vineyard, you’re welcomed with a drink and chef Thierry serves fabulous breakfasts of local produce to send you happily on your next leg. Although with ancient abbeys, fabulous wineries and the pool to linger by, you might just decide to hang around for a while.
Route: Near to A39 in Eastern France, connecting Dijon with Bourg en Bresse. A popular route to the Alps
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Château les Oliviers de Salettes, Drôme
This three-storey house of impressive proportions, with a turret at each end, was once part of a much larger château, the centre of a vast vineyard. Now it lords over five hectares of finely landscaped parkland, with dining terraces, boules pitch and infinity pool, and panoramas that reach to the Alps. There’s much to stay for, cookery lessons, wine tastings and electric-bike rentals, tree climbing, canoeing, riding, golf and a sweet spa. The food is exceptional too.
Route: A short detour from the A7 linking Lyon to Marseille, on route to the Côte d’Azur
Auberge de Chassignolles, Haute-Loire
The 1930s inn sits opposite the medieval church and next to the ruins of a 13th-century castle, its bar happily occupied by friendly locals. At 950 metres, the village has lovely views over fields and forests, stretching to the peaks of the Auvergne and Le Mont-Dore. It hums with unpretentious good looks, young staff, seriously delicious, locally-sourced food with homegrown vegetables and natural wines. Upstairs, warm, simple rooms won’t disappoint. Borrow bikes, ask for a picnic and head for a swimming lake.
Route: Near to the A75 linking Clermont-Ferrand and Béziers, a popular route to the Languedoc region
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Les Jardins de Baracane, Avignon
Slip through narrow streets to a beautiful house in exquisite gardens. The rich silk merchants of Avignon once lived here and your worldly hosts Olivier and Laurence usher you in with a coffee or glass of wine. There’s a Moroccan feel here, behind the high, cool walls with a long, inviting swimming pool for cooling off. Five south-facing bedrooms are quiet and quirky, with cossetting beds and bathrooms. Avignon and wider Provence are at your feet.
Route: In Avignon near to A9 and A7, on route to the southeast or southwest corners
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Clos Marcamps, Prignac et Marcamps
A super-stylish makeover by the de Gamas who moved here from Paris with their young children. All is pale and lovely, clear and uncluttered, designed to enhance the elegant proportions of this handsome Chartreuse house. You eat, superbly and seasonally, in the main house. You sleep in beautifully compact rooms in the converted barns. Each has its own entrance and is on two levels with beds upstairs. There’s a wow of a pool, swings and table tennis, you can book beauty treatments, or baby-sitting, and head for Bordeaux.
Route: Near Bordeaux on the A10, on route to the beaches of southwest France
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Vive la France
This article is part of Vive la France, the home of inspiring itineraries and stories from travel writers and our team, to help you plan your next French adventure.
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