Great B&Bs in France: readers’ travel tips

Winning tip: The Frogs House, St Jeannet, near Nice

This fantastic B&B is set in a small friendly village in the hills above Nice. It is run by Corinne and Benoit, a delightful French couple who have the knack of making all their guests feel entirely at home. The rooms are simple, beautiful and individual with many having views to the coast. The fantastic continental breakfasts are served on the terrace and include bread baked 50m away and their own delicious home-made yoghurt and jams. Join one of the couple’s range of day trips to hidden gems in the area such as the small nearby family farm producing organic goat’s cheese. Take the tour, meet the producers and enjoy a goat’s cheese tasting picnic afterwards. Small group cooking lessons are also offered. The morning’s creations are enjoyed at a shared table over a long lunch accompanied by matched wines from the very local vineyard.

Manoir de Boisairault, Le Coudray-Macouard, Saumur, Loire

What makes this exceptional B&B in the pretty village of Le Courdray-Macouard is the hospitality of the family (including Blanche the dog); interesting and cultured, they will go out of their way to help make your stay. They have rooms for couples and for families, with a lovely private garden. One of the highlights was the history of the manoir, which like the rest of the village is built on top of a network of caves. Close by is the Loire river with lovely villages, chateaux, cave wineries and restaurants. There is also a riverboat for hire you can stay on.

La Roseraie, Sainte-Geneviève-lès-Gasny, Normandy

Ten minutes’ drive from Monet’s Giverny house is the beautiful La Roseraie, with gardens he would have approved of, and spacious rooms with sumptuous beds and drapes hanging over them. It made my daughter declare it “the perfect place for a princess to stay!”. My son loved the heated pool (with sliding roof, for all weather). The owner is the friendly, English speaking Sylvie, full of tips such as eating at a nearby 18th century picture perfect mill. 

Ancienne Gendarmerie, Cadouin, the Dordogne

Take the tour, meet the producers and enjoy a goat’s cheese tasting picnic afterwards. Small group cooking lessons are also offered. The morning’s creations are enjoyed at a shared table over a long lunch accompanied by matched wines from the very local vineyard.

Manoir de Boisairault, Le Coudray-Macouard, Saumur, Loire

In the village of Cadouin, in the eternally beautiful Dordogne region, this erstwhile prison – the doors remain – has been converted into a sublime chambre d’hote; the four rooms offer warm stone walls, exposed beams and colourful tiling, and two of them have a balcony overlooking the lush gardens. Guests can also make use of the communal area, complete with open hearth, books and films. Tuck into a terrific Dutch-French breakfast, then amble down the road to view the abbey’s gorgeous gothic cloisters.

Le Mas Normand, Ver-sur-Mer, Normandy

Just a few hundred metres from the Normandy coastline, Le Mas Normand makes a perfect base for exploring the D-Day beaches and historic towns such as Bayeux, or for just enjoying the countryside and wonderful food this region has to offer. The rooms are situated around a courtyard in a collection of rustic farm buildings, furnished in vintage style and even include a restored gypsy caravan. A generous breakfast is served in a lovely conservatory which showcases local produce prepared Mylene, who couldn’t be a more hospitable host.

Ferme de Bray, Sommery, Normandy

This 17th-century farmhouse B&B run by the Perrier family has gorgeous rustic, spacious, spotless rooms and serves bakery-fresh breakfast. The grounds include a historic cider press, babbling brooks, wonderful old farm buildings and gorgeous gardens (the odd tranquil donkey and mischievous cat included). There’s great access from the Avenue Vert cycle path, and it’s 30 minutes from Rouen by car and 45 minutes from the Dieppe ferry. We arrived after a biking disaster, and kind Mme Perrier made us a garden supper picnic of baguette and cheese. We felt so welcome and our stay was so relaxing!

Sous les Figuiers, Provence

The B&B is a charming family-run place, hidden away in the rolling countryside behind Nice. The walls are adorned with bright lavender and the ground floor rooms have verandas where the owners serve a delicious breakfast in the shade of fig trees as you look out on vineyards and stunning sunrises over the hills. You can even join in free regular painting classes given by local artists to bring out your inner Renoir.

La Maison Bacana, Paris

The perfect place if you are looking for a good value, stylish B&B in Paris. Hosted by the charismatic Fred, it offers a plentiful breakfast, endless travel tips and a clean and comfortable place to stay. There is an iPad in the 24-hour dining room where you can sit and listen to the radio with a relaxing cup of coffee. It’s quirky, with a gorgeous garden so eating alfresco is an option if the weather obliges. It’s just off the beaten track - two minutes’ walk from the train station and a 15-minute train ride from the centre of Paris.

La Cour Sainte-Catherine, Honfleur, Normandy

This former convent, fishermen’s cottages and cidrerie is now a maison d’hote run by pleasant and attentive owners. The five large bedrooms are all individually styled and furnished with large beds, an assortment of easy chairs and bookcases with books and magazines, all of which makes you feel as if you are a guest in someone’s home. All have en suite facilities and one even has a kitchen. Each looks out onto a most attractive shady and enclosed courtyard garden of trees, shrubs and flowers with benches and tables where you can relax. Breakfast, taken in an old beamed kitchen with lovely polished dark furniture, is typically French: cakes and patisseries, jams and preserves, pancakes cooked while you watch. A truly charming place to stay

Les Tourelles, Mons-en-Baroeul, Lille

The Pollet-Sawicka family, all highly-talented classical musicians, extend the warmest of welcomes to Les Tourelles, formerly the carriage block of the neighbouring 19th-century mansion. The tastefully decorated and comfortable bedroom, with its modern shower room, sits at the top of one of the two eponymous turrets. Breakfast is a veritable feast, served in the spacious salon overlooking the garden. Five minutes’ walk from the metro and thence three stops to the city centre, Les Tourelles is the perfect base from which to explore all the museums, parks and (not least!) restaurants Lille has to offer.