Oak floors, high ceilings, huge reclaimed furniture and works by Pascal and Suzie's arty family. Expect cultured chat in the intimate dining room and Suzie’s range-cooked organic meals, the ingredients sourced from local farmers- Tomme d’Abondance cheese from next door, poultry from Bresse, fish from Lake Geneva. Bedrooms have stunning views and dreamy bathrooms. Stay at the Chalet Chatelet from €90 a night.
One for wine buffs, this 1860s farmhouse – restored in slick, minimalist style – sits in a boutique vineyard, a corkʼs pop from vinophile haven. Monsieur Gerber shows guests around his cellars, and talks grapes in the airy communal lounge. Madame serves breakfast when you fancy and dinners in private parlours on request – and there are Michelin stars in Saint-Émilion. A night at Clos de la Barbanne costs from €130 a night.
Welcoming, interesting people, who are in the wine trade and grow walnuts, have turned one wing of the handsome old family house into elegant B&B rooms. Laurence's dinners alone are worth the visit, then there's the fine pool on the olive-studded terrace, the rose garden and Italianate formality rolling past walnuts groves.From €110 a night. Domaine de Labarthe.
Come for romance and good, honest food: home-reared quails,rabbits, organic veg, fresh-laid eggs, honey from the hives. Chris catches wild boar and fish, Joanne cooks from handwritten recipes and serves in the 1670s dining room or on the sun terrace overlooking a wooded valley. Chandeliers dangle from big beams and bedrooms have free-standing double baths and fluffy gowns. Prices at La Petite Maison, located in St Avit De Tardes, Creuse start at 75 Euros per night.
Seafood is fresh from the Atlantic, the palm-ringed pool shimmers and five light-filled rooms exude your hosts' love of the sea. If you're lucky, Monsieur will cook – tuna carpaccio, fresh sole – joining guests at one long table; Madame may share stories of oyster farming. Plump down afterwards on cherry sofas or step out to the flower garden. One night at Le Logis du Port Paridis costs from €100 a night
A tree-lined drive in the commune of Tarascon leads to an impeccable 18th-century mansion. Thierry swapped wine consultancy for olive oil (his passion) and planted massively when they arrived. The rooms are decorated with simple, assured elegance and Marie-Laure’s vast Provençal kitchen is a super place for breakfast. Beyond the house, garden and pool stretch Thierry’s olive groves. From €95 a night. La Mas d'Anez
Sarah creates fine pâtés from the pigs Steve raises on the veg patch in winter and serves them with onion jam made with onions grown there in summer: they care deeply about their food and its sourcing. A big, unusual house, Mas de Garrigue has an elegance all its own: vast rooms, supremely beamed and raftered, are furnished with quiet taste, Irish antiques and the occasional contemporary flourish. From €95 a night.
A four-storey 17th-century private mansion in the shadow of Notre Dame: surely the rarest B&B in Paris. Be welcomed into a lively, educated family; the basement pool, sauna and gym; the wine-and-cheese tasting in the cellar. Take the ancient stairs or the lift to top-floor breakfast with Anne and masses of inside lore on hidden Paris.From €265 a night. Paris Historic Bed and Breakfast
Visitors to this remote vine-covered farmhouse in the village of Choisy en Brie, are welcomed warmly by the happy Beaups, who serve French and Brazilian dishes and dine with their guests. The bedroom has matching furniture and the bathroom is roomy and new. Breakfast on the terrace and explore local cheese makers from your doorstep. A night at Le Ferme le Merger costs from €69 a night.
Behind the grey façade of this old Savoyard farmhouse is one luxurious B&B. Friendly owners Hugh and Nikki (who also runs wonderful cookery courses and serves excellent food) have put everything into the renovation. The arched diner is chandelier-hung and atmospheric; the bedrooms comfy with chunky-chic furniture from old timbers, and bathrooms are special. Chalet Savoie Faire is nestled in the village of Lechere right in the heart of the Rhone Alps. From €68 a night.
Beside the 1700s farmhouse, the barn conversion shelters artistic, uncluttered, stone-walled bedrooms and incredible views. The superb dining room – Isabelle’s trompe-l’œil floor, huge carved table – reflects the origins of this happy, relaxed family. On balmy summer evenings, the food (book ahead) is deliciously garden-aromatic: Simon is a powerful, eco-aware gardener and they grow their own fruit and veg. From €75 a night. Maison Rancesamy