Ten Top French Retreats
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Your support makes all the difference.1. Pyrennees
Set on the dramatic Atlantic coast, boutique B&B Arguibel is traditional timber on the outside, flamboyant and colour-drenched on the inside: lime and turquoise walls, disco-shiny mosaic tiles (from €160).
2. Burgundy
Moulin Renaudiots is a vine-clad 17th-century water mill with Danish-Dutch design and modern-classic furniture (from €115, with breakfast).
3. Cognac
Foodies adore Le Logis de Puygâty, a 15th-century fortified manor serving refined country cooking, about 20km from Angoulême (from €135).
4. Provence
La Maison sur la Sorgue, in one of southern France's prettiest market towns, is decorated with artefacts collected by its well-travelled owners (from €240, with breakfast). Contact: modernhotels.com.
5. Languedoc-Roussillon
Stylishly renovated 17th-century convent Le Couvent d'Hérépian has stone floors, lime-washed furniture, underground spa and rooms with terraces (from €125).
6. Normandy
Château de Saint-Paterne is a luxe family castle with romantic rooms, tennis courts, a heated pool and chef (from €135).
7. Provence
Le Mas de la Rose, a beamed farmhouse in a sprawling estate near St-Rémy-de-Provence, has a golf range, tennis court, and outdoor pool (from €190).
8. Paris
Hotel Keppler, just off the Champs Elysées, has rooms designed by interiors guru Pierre-Yves Rochon (from €269).
9. Brittany
For a family-friendly seaside stay: Le Lodge Kerisper in La Trinité-sur-Mer has "help-yourself" jars of sweets and bikes to borrow (from €90).
10. Champagne-Ardennes
A nine-room, boutique bed-and-bistro set in two restored farmhouses at Chez Odette, with exposed beams and modern design (from €175).
All rates are per room, per night including tax (to book go to mrandmrssmith.com). See also Mr & Mrs Smith Hotel Collection: France (Spy Publishing, £19.95).
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