1. Château style in the Gers
Distance from St Malo: 435 miles
Within sight of the Pyrénées, Château Pélat is a proper castle, built in about 1180. It stands in 40 acres of parkland, with a gatehouse, a round tower, a 10ft fireplace and a huge oak door built to thwart battering rams. There’s a pool, a tennis court and a vineyard that offers a half-case on the house. It looks pricey, but with beds for ten adults and four children, it works out at £61 per person per night.
Details Seven nights’ self-catering for 14 from £6,000, arriving on August 7 (simply-gascony.co.uk). Return ferries to St Malo from £816 (brittany-ferries.co.uk)
2. Fisherman’s cottage in Normandy
Distance from Caen: 77 miles
Between the salt marshes and the sea on the west coast of the Contentin peninsula stands the fishing village of St Germain-sur-Ay. This two-bedroom, detached stone cottage — romantically named NM6025 — is in the heart of a hamlet that’s mostly holiday homes these days, but retains its rough-hewn Norman charm. The six-mile sands of Surville Plage are a five-minute drive west, and the night market at Barneville-Carteret, 15 miles north, takes place every Tuesday in summer.
Details Seven nights’ self-catering for four in August from £864, including ferries (brittany-ferries.co.uk)
3. Camping in Brittany
Distance from Caen: 233 miles
There are five magnificent beaches within five miles of the Domaine de Kerlann (the medieval port of Concarneau, famed for its fruits de mer, is 30 minutes’ drive west; pretty Pont Aven is ten minutes east), but you may find it hard to leave this family-friendly campsite, with its neat mobile homes. There are indoor and outdoor pools, a waterpark, children’s clubs, a bar selling rosé and nightly entertainment.
Details Seven nights’ self-catering for four from £1,106, arriving on August 14 (siblu.co.uk). Return ferries to Caen from £615 (brittany-ferries.co.uk)
4. Beach camping in the Vendée
Distance from St Malo: 156 miles
Launched in 2020, Le Clarys Plage Camping is a five-star park from the campsite giant Homair. We call it “posh camping”; they call it hôtellerie de plein air, or outdoor hotels. A six-minute walk from the sands of Plage des Mouettes, Le Clarys has a dragon-themed waterpark, two pools, tennis, fitness classes, children’s clubs and themed dinners. And the mobile homes are down from £1,280 in August.
Details Seven nights’ self-catering for five from £1,027, arriving on August 14 (eurocamp.co.uk). Return ferries to St Malo from £816 (brittany-ferries.co.uk)
5. Village life in Hérault
Distance from Calais: 649 miles
Leave the Luberon to the Instagrammers and head west to Hérault, where swifts and nightingales make up the chattering classes. Book La Bastide — a three-bedroom house in the Languedoc village of Maraussan — and you could easily manage without a car: Maraussan has brilliant bakeries and butchers, a Tuesday market and Domaine de Perdiguier, selling an addictive pinot noir. Gorgeous Béziers is a three-mile bike ride away.
Details Seven nights’ self-catering for six from £1,538, arriving on August 14 (frenchconnections.co.uk). Return ferries to Calais from £225 (poferries.com)
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6. Train and trails in the Dordogne
Distance from St Pancras: 617 miles
Let the train put in the effort from St Pancras to Brive-la-Gaillarde before you embark on this walk along the Dordogne River from Beaulieu to Rocamadour. It was in a cave in Rocamadour that a body was found in 1166 and declared to be that of St Zacchaeus — and so a medieval tourist attraction was born. It’s the climax of a 12-night trip — it includes rest days — hiking between increasingly pretty inns, one of which has a Michelin-starred restaurant.
Details Twelve nights’ half-board in August from £2,240pp, including return rail travel, luggage transfers and seven picnics (inntravel.co.uk)
7. Bergerie with a pool in the Var
Distance from Calais: 694 miles
A short drive from the beaches of Sanary-sur-Mer and Bandol, Berloga is a two-bedroom, two-bathroom bergerie with a pool at the edge of Le Beausset, famed for its Friday market. The exquisitely pretty — and acutely touristy — hill village of Le Castellet is next door, and the countryside is a delightful mix of pine forest, garigue and vineyards; check the Var-Matin newspaper for details of weekly apéro parties.
Details Seven nights’ self-catering for four from £1,450, arriving on August 14 (frenchconnections.co.uk). Return ferries to Calais from £225 (poferries.com)
8. Stay in a wine cellar in Burgundy
Distance from Calais: 382 miles
If you’re going to Beaune, a wine cellar makes an excellent home, and there are two doubles and one family bedroom in this smart townhouse in the Côte d’Or capital. Markets are held on Wednesdays and Saturdays, and the mesmerising Hospices de Beaune museum is five minutes’ walk from your door. Above all there is wine, and if you don’t fancy driving from Calais take the Eurostar to Dijon then the TER to Beaune, from £190 return.
Details Seven nights’ self-catering for ten from £2,738, arriving on August 22 (oliverstravels.com). Tunnel crossing to Calais from £349 return (eurotunnel.com)
9. Eclectic digs in Charente-Maritime
Distance from St Malo: 211 miles
Île de Ré, off La Rochelle, is to France what Aldeburgh is to England: a charming fishing community embraced by city folk. Families pedal from beach to lunch to pool to apéro, so you’ll need to rent a bike. Galathée, a two-bedroom townhouse in the island’s capital, reflects its boho aspirations with eclectic furnishings and, if you stand on a chair, sea views. There’s a good bar-bistro, L’Insolite, close by.
Details Seven nights’ self-catering for four from £2,170, arriving on August 14 (sawdays.co.uk). Return ferries to St Malo from £816 (brittany-ferries.co.uk)
10. Walking and wine in the Vaucluse
Distance from Calais: 594 miles
The bone-white summit of Mont Ventoux rises 11 miles to the southeast of this magnificent family house. It’s less than a century since excavations in Vaison-le-Romaine revealed vast Roman remains — built on them is one of the prettiest and most intriguing towns in the Vaucluse. It’s a paradise for amblers and wine lovers: the appellations of Côtes-du-Rhône Villages, Gigondas and Côtes du Ventoux surround it. The 17th-century house sleeps nine, with terraced gardens leading to the pool.
Details Seven nights’ self-catering for nine from £4,190, arriving on August 14 (vintagetravel.co.uk). Tunnel crossing to Calais from £349 return (eurotunnel.com)
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