Our hotel ideas for a weekend in the countryside

1. Domaine de la Bretesche | Bucolic luxury two hours from Paris

At the gateway to Brittany, the Domaine de la Bretesche offers a refined getaway in the heart of 200 hectares of forest and ponds surrounding a 15th-century castle. Located in Missillac, just two hours from Paris by high-speed train, this Relais & Châteaux hotel with Green Key certification combines architectural elegance with a soothing natural setting. An ideal 5-star hotel for a weekend in the countryside, it has 25 rooms (ranging from 23 to 42 square meters) and 6 suites (ranging from 33 to 55 square meters) located in the former outbuildings with views of the lake and the château. The interiors are understated and cozy, with soft colors, noble, natural materials, and nods to the site's aristocratic past. “I sought to find balance by working with original materials such as oak woodwork, stone, and granite, and more modern materials such as fabrics, ceramics, glass, and abaca,” explains Stéphanie Decurey, the architect and interior designer. In the former sheepfolds, nine contemporary villas (ranging from 40 to 60 square meters) are ideal for families, with fully equipped kitchens, private terraces, and hotel service, as well as thirteen forest cottages nestled at the edge of the woods. Simpler and more independent, the latter offer a peaceful break in nature, without integrated hotel service but with the rare privilege of waking up to birdsong.

From the hotel, you can reach the Brière Natural Park on foot or by bike (provided by the hotel) for a romantic getaway, a family walk in the surrounding countryside, or a run in the great outdoors (the hotel can recommend several routes). You can drift along to the picturesque villages of Île de Fédrun or Kerhinet with their thatched roofs typical of the Brière region, or to the marshes, which you can explore by barge (charming flat-bottomed boats) while observing the birds in the ornithological reserve. The Château de Ranrouet, a fortress built between the 13th and 17th centuries, is also the perfect destination for a timeless weekend getaway.

On the estate, the organic vegetable garden cultivated using permaculture (which supplies the hotel's restaurants) offers a pleasant stroll for adults and children alike, who will also be delighted to meet the farm animals that are present on site for several months of the year. Golf and nature lovers will appreciate the 18-hole course (6,015 m, par 72), designed in the forest and maintained in an eco-responsible manner (smart irrigation, sustainable maintenance, etc.). To improve your game, the hotel's golf lessons, supervised by David Lanta, are available for all levels.

For relaxation, the 400-square-meter spa, located under an elegant glass roof that bathes the entire space in pleasant natural light, features treatment rooms (offering Cinq Mondes and Omnisens protocols), a 14-meter indoor pool (the heated outdoor pool is open from May to September), and a tea room where you can relax on a deckchair facing the bay windows overlooking the wooded park. Fancy a special treatment for your weekend in the countryside? The spa welcomes you to the Chalet du Potager for an intimate massage in the hotel garden when the weather is fine.

To punctuate your weekend with gourmet moments, the gourmet restaurant Le Montaigu, led by Filipe Silvestre, offers cuisine inspired by the ocean and the Breton terroir, with a few Asian touches. Its bistronomic brasserie, Le Club, offers seasonal dishes on a terrace facing the putting green, while at the Bar des Écuries, the former stables have been transformed into alcoves where you can enjoy cocktails, digestifs, and a selection of non-alcoholic drinks.

Domaine de la Bretesche
40 keys from 220 euros per night
Domaine de la Bretesche, 44780 Missillac
bretesche.com/en/

2. Auberge du Jeu de Paume | Immersion in French art de vivre

Just a stone's throw from the hustle and bustle of Paris, you can spend a few hours where discreet luxury blends perfectly with nature. Here, in the lush gardens of the Château de Chantilly, we slip into the cosy comfort of the Auberge du Jeu de Paume, a jewel protected by walls steeped in history and bucolic landscapes stretching over nearly 8,000 hectares.

A member of the prestigious Relais & Châteaux family, the Auberge du Jeu de Paume boasts 67 rooms and 25 suites, each decorated in a refined French style. Toile de Jouy, velvets carefully cut by master craftsmen and elegant Louis XV-style furnishings invite you to immerse yourself in the elegance of the past. Some rooms open behind heavy curtains onto terraces offering breathtaking views over the grounds of France's largest princely estate. Gastronomy is not to be outdone, with the La Table du Connétable restaurant, led by the expert hand of chef Clément Le Norcy. Here, palates are delighted by contemporary French cuisine, with a touch of creativity. Dishes such as spider crab with dried caviar, crunchy split pea with stracciatella and vermouth, tenderly prepared lamb with squid ink rosette, or rhubarb meringue earl grey and verjuice follow one another, evoking the opulence of a royal banquet.

Finally, if you feel like doing some sport or venturing outdoors, the Auberge offers a multitude of activities: hiking, horseback riding, hunting, bike rides, picnics in the park... We've thought of everything to make your nature weekend an unforgettable experience.

We love: the Valmont spa with its colorful mosaic indoor pool, and treatments by experienced therapists.

Auberge du Jeu de Paume
92 keys from €307 per night
4 Rue du Connétable, 60500 Chantilly

3. Domaine de Primard | Character property in Eure-et-Loire

Just 1 hour from Paris, this vast estate is one of the finest ideas of a weekend in the countryside: 40 hectares of colorful orchards, meadows and carefully tended gardens, a breathtaking picture of nature. Created by Belgian landscape architect Jacques Wirtz. Here, you're in Catherine Deneuve's former estate, an imposing 18th-century building. As beautiful and elegant as the famous actress. Domaine de Primard's decor? Guillaume Foucher, the owner - and co-founder of the Fontenille collection - refused to entrust it to anyone but himself. Assisted by his in-house architect. The result is a delicate, poetic atmosphere, particularly in the 40 large rooms - ranging from 23 to 60m^{2 -}as well as in the airy hanging lamps, where virginal whites are adorned with soft or more intense, nature-oriented hues.

The bathrooms are just as pleasantly luxurious, many with bathtubs and separate showers, with organic products by Susanne Kaufmann, the same brand used for treatments in the 400m² spa. Natural light, a hammam and sauna, two Japanese baths: everything is here, right down to the heated outdoor pool. Stroll through to the orchard. You can even stop for lunch at Octave's pretty bistro menu, or at the magnificent gastronomic Les Chemins. If you're looking to relax, you'll love wandering between the arboretum and the rose garden, barely glancing at the electric bikes. But it's up to you to get on them and discover the Eure valley. Sometimes a weekend in the countryside is too short to leave this enchanting property behind.

Domaine de Primard
39 keys, prices from 250 euros per night
D16, 28260 Guainville

4. Les Petites Maisons - Hameau des Baux | Art and nature meet in Provence

Olive and cypress trees, almond and rose bushes, right next to the Château de Baux. When you arrive at Hameau des Baux, it's Provence in evidence, a weekend in the country version, with colors and sounds straight out of a Pagnol book. A jumble of charming houses circling a small square; a few plane trees and a giggling fountain; tiled roofs, light blue shutters; you can't resist gently pushing open the door to one of the 27 suites, each with its own personality. Vintage objects meet contemporary creations, cotton and linen, wicker and wood, and it's a whole universe of softness that invites torpor.

In the hottest hours of the day, we sit on a sheltered terrace. Take a dip in one of the two heated pools, open until the end of October. A place to get away from it all, but also a place to meet up. First at the Guinguette on the hamlet square, for a few tapas and a signature cocktail. Then into the pretty dining room. At the piano, chef Julie Chaix, a true Provencal. Don't ask her if there's lobster on the menu: she swears by the products of her region, from pistou soup to Sisteron lamb. A cuisine that's very much like her, fresh, lively and without fuss.

Art is also part of the DNA of the site, so don't be surprised if you come across these funny pumpkin-headed gardeners in the aisles: they're Jean-François Fourtou's Nanitos. And if you've got nothing to read, head for the bookshop in the lobby.

Les Petites Maisons - Hameau des Baux
27 keys, prices from 215 euros per night
285 Chemin de Bourgeac 13520 Paradou

5. Auberge des Templiers | Like a fairy tale in Sologne

There's plenty of fairytale charm to be found on this estate, just an hour and a half's drive from Paris. The first house dates back to 1699. The Auberge des Templiers, which was a post office until the end of the 19th-century, is a collection of disparate yet charming buildings: a cottage, a traditional thatched cottage and, of course, this typically Sologne half-timbered house. Six houses nestle in a superb 6-hectare forest park. Owned by the same family since the Second World War, the Auberge is one of the founders of Relais & Châteaux. The tradition of hospitality is well established.

In the common areas, it's hardly surprising to find parquet and flagstones with the patina of centuries, classic furniture and antique carpets. The rooms and suites, on the other hand, are far more striking, with their Art Deco, English country or more classically contemporary styles. The charm is guaranteed. The 20 rooms are reserved exclusively for guests of the gourmet restaurant. After all, the establishment has had a Michelin star since 1952 and has never lost it. Today, it's chef Thibault Nizard, a disciple of Gérald Passedat and Guy Savoy, who delights the taste buds. While the titles of the dishes may seem classic, there's a real astonishment in the tasting and a modernity that makes sense.

No spa, but a generous swimming pool, tennis courts and, of course, the mysterious forest. But if you feel like getting away for a few hours, two castles, Gien and Sully-sur-Loire, are less than 20 minutes from your hotel in Sologne.

Auberge des Templiers
20 Route Départementale 2007, 45290 Boismorand
lestempliers.com/fr

6. Château & Village Castigno Wine Hotel & Resort | The promise of detox in Occitania

So, yes, there is a castle, Castigno. But also hamlets that dance around it. And vineyards. It was a Belgian couple who fell in love with the region and initially set out to produce organic wine. Then, little by little, they bought up the scattered houses. And that's where the unusual aspect comes in: the village is also inhabited on a daily basis.

24 rooms and suites from 12 to 90m². And even a villa for 4, with private pool. Coquettish in their brightly colored decor, very contemporary even in the more than three-hundred-year-old house or the former grape-pickers' huts. Scattered with works of art and antique objects, they shun all television. Not even wifi: you came here to relax, didn't you? A digital detox that goes very well with the 100m² privatizable spa with duo treatments, sauna and jacuzzi. Everything has been perfectly thought out, right down to the massage oils made from organic vine leaf macerate.

Three restaurants to ensure you don't fall into a rut: the bistro grill with its wood-burning fire and parasols on the village square, the Thai restaurant focusing on specialties from the north of Bangkok, and the gastronomic restaurant for eco-responsible, short-run cuisine that adds a touch of poetry to Mediterranean flavors. Vacations in the countryside, amidst the Languedoc hinterland, are definitely not over yet!

Village Castigno
9 Avenue de Saint-Chinian, 34360 Assignan

7. Domaine du Roncemay | Golf and spa relaxation in Burgundy

This Burgundy hotel, tucked away between Paris and Dijon, looks as if it's been plucked from a pastoral painting: the elegant hunting lodge on this superb estate - 140 hectares of impeccably trimmed forest, ponds and lawns - houses just 21 rooms and suites. While it may be Burgundian in style, with its local stone and exposed beams, the hotel has been designed as a contemporary home, blending designer pieces and family furniture, playing on the colors of nature to bring it into each room.

At Domaine du Roncemay, the brasserie and gourmet restaurant share culinary pleasures, telling stories firmly rooted in the terroir. And the wine cellar is a perfect match for the bold, technical cuisine of chef Clément Vergeat and pastry chef Marine Mateos. For weekends or vacations, the countryside is also a golf course, an 18-hole course that winds its way through birch trees and centuries-old oaks. Nature also invites itself into the new spa, with its water, stone and wood architecture, and its cutting-edge treatments by Phytomer and Kos Paris. And if all this isn't enough to keep you happy, you can also rent bicycles to discover the marked trails in the heart of the forest.

Domaine du Roncemay
Boisserelle, 89110 Chassy