The Top 10 Villa Holidays In France

Our experts' pick of the top 10 self-catering and villa holidays in France for 2015/16, including villas in Normandy, Brittany, Languedoc, Provence and the Dordogne

All prices are for property rental for a week in spring or summer unless stated otherwise. They are subject to availability.

1. Earthship Perrine, Normandy

Just outside the village of Gers, in the rolling farmlands of south-westNormandy, stands the only "Earthship" in Europe available as a self-catering holiday rental. A glorified greenhouse with a capital G, Earthship Perrine was constructed to a model developed in Taos, New Mexico, as an eco-friendly “home of the future”.

Its walls, half-buried in the rich Norman soil, consist of used car tyres rammed full of earth; its south-facing façade is entirely glass, enclosing a plant-filled conservatory corridor off which lie three large, warm (and somewhat dark) bedrooms plus a kitchen, bathroom and living area. The whole structure is off-grid, and self-sufficient for power and water, without stinting on things like comfortable beds and a wood-burning stove.

From £78 a night through Canopy & Stars (0117 204 7830;canopyandstars.co.uk).

Greg Ward

2. Château du Bec, Normandy

Circled by a broad, tranquil moat, overlooking its own lake and swathes of woodland, the thousand-year-old Château du Bec is 14km south of the seaside resort of Étretat. Though repeatedly rebuilt since the 10th century, it remains a magnificent vision, with its turreted towers and forbidding gateway.

Its interior spaces have been radically transformed, however, to give it two ultra-modern, architect-designed self-catering apartments, each capable of sleeping four, and two b & b suites, L’Atre and La Rotonde. The latter on the ground floor, does indeed have a round bedroom, encircled by curving walls of ancient exposed stonework. There’s also a b &  b cabin in the grounds, with its own lakeside terrace.

From £110 a night; self-catering suites from £430 per week, £280 for a weekend (00 33 6228 32 417; chateaudubec.com).

GW

^{Chateau du Bec in Normandy}

3. Châteaux of Brittany

Countless rental homes and cottages are available along the Breton coast. For something truly exceptional, though, how about renting a castle? The easy-to-use Oliver’s Travels website lists a dozen genuine châteaux in Brittany, capable of accommodating from 10 to 35 guests; all are ideal for hosting large-scale get-togethers. Among the pick of the crop are the Château de Moulin, commanding views of both St-Malo and Dinard from a seafront hill-top; the Manor de Chalandes, set in magnificent gardens near the Loire which comes with its own spa; and the imposing Château le Bois near Rennes, which has a private fishing lake.

Château de Moulin from £7,991; Manor de Chalandes from £5,486;Château le Bois from £1,448 (0800 133 7999; oliverstravels.com).

GW

4. Grabels, Languedoc

As in Provence, so in Languedoc it makes sense to take one’s country break near a big town. Thus, when the need arises, one may get away from getting away from it all, and get back in among it. Montpellier’s the place for this. It’s among the liveliest and most elegant of all French cities, with a full roster of culture, bars and restaurants dotted about a superb old centre, a magnificent main square and, in Antigone and beyond, France’s most ambitious modern developments. Grabels, a charming village about seven miles out, is where we find the Villa Emma - a contemporary spot of decadently luxurious standards: loads of glass, light and air, lawns, pools, four fine double bedrooms, lolling areas for eight and more. Beyond Montpellier, the Med is but a hop. Behind Grabels, the Hérault high country leads quickly to the Cévennes. This is, in short, a great base - and a pretty smart place to return to.

From £1,826 with French Country Cottages (0345 268 0796; french-country-cottages.co.uk).

Anthony Peregrine

5. Pézenas, Languedoc

Maison du Pézenas has the sort of contemporary gleam you see in design magazines, plus mandatory terraces, gardens, big pool and a built-in sense of entitlement. Pézenas centre is under a mile away, with its period drama of narrow streets distinguished, in the past, by Molière and Clive of India (though, sadly, not together). It’s 30 minutes to the beach or the shellfish of the Etang-de-Thau, rather less to the Hérault hills and Héric gorges so remote that they get yesterday’s sunshine.

AP

^{Maison du Pézenas}

6. Var, Provence

Stick a pin in a map of Provence and it will land in a pleasant villa somewhere lovely. The truth is that in Provence, prettiness, warmth and, hence, villas are ubiquitous. So I’ll simply choose one of my favourite bits - the hill country around Fayence, where the Var département starts to rise towards the Alps, strewing gorges, vines, rocks, torrents and perched villages as it goes. British-run Pure France has an outstanding collection of top-end properties in the area (and, if you’re not going top-end, why go at all?). These include the stone-built, 10-sleeper Bastide de Cavaroux, far up a hill and with a wow factor (pool, gardens, general sumptuousness) to convince the meanest among us that we are fleetingly part of the élite.

From £2,930 (0203 514 2359; purefrance.com).

AP

7. Aix, Provence

It’s an excellent idea to spend one’s Provençal country holiday not too far from a fine town so, when it arises, the craving for culture, shops, bars and hubbub may be assuaged. Step forward Aix-en-Provence, brainiest city in France, most civilised in the south. A past involving Good King René, nobles, jurists and Paul Cézanne informs present elegance, enhancing everyone. Walk along the wide, tree-lined Cours Mirabeau and you’re a better person already. Villas du Monde has some cracking properties in the surrounding countryside - not least an eight-sleeper (romantically termed B398) with great pool and gardens, nine miles from Aix centre. Deeply bucolic itself, it’s also within hailing distance of the Luberon and the Camargue, to assuage further rustic cravings. Ideal, really.

From £1,650 (0033 800 800 565; villasdumonde.com).

AP

8. Rocamadour, Dordogne

Few properties plunge guests into the heart of la belle France quite like Château de Cantecor in the Lot, south-west France. Snug between chestnut forests three miles from the town of Rocamadour, this château means business. It has turrets and watchtowers. It has history harking back to the 12th century. And the valley view from its self-catering gîtes is magnificent. The holiday house in the former watchtower sleeps three. But the real thrill is the luxurious tree-top cabin with two stylish double bedrooms and a decking terrace for starlit dining and view swooning. Gîtes share the swimming pool and barbecue built in the chateau’s former bread oven.

From £890 for the treehouse, £420 for the watchtower (0033 5 65 33 73 50;amadour-hotel.com/fr/gites-de-cantecor.php).

Nicola Williams

^{Rocamadour (Photo: AP/Fotolia)}

9. La Clusaz, French Alps

It can be hard to get away from it all in the French Alps. Not so at Les Ecotagnes, a romantic cluster of treehouses and 18th-century chalet with hot tub in the forest not far from La Clusaz. So off the beaten track is it that guests park in Les Villards-sur-Thônes and tackle the final off-road climb up to 1,350m by 4x4. At the wheel is Hugo, a ski teacher and first-rate chef who runs Les Ecotagnes with passion and care. The luxurious treehouses built by his father have wood-burning stoves and sleep two. Water comes from a mountain spring, and flaming torches light the forest path leading to the main chalet, where dinner is served around a shared table. Les Ecotagnes is open from May to mid-November.

From £130pp a night half-board in a treehouse, including 4x4 shuttle, is £130 a night in a treehouse (0033 6 70 02 10 14; ecotagnes.com).

NW

10. Montreal, Burgundy

Burgundy’s medieval villages make a great base for exploring the local area. In the golden light of midsummer they are picture-postcard perfect, with panoramic views across the wild Morvan national park. Better still, they are low-key lively, with bars, restaurants and cafes on your doorstep. Vezelay is the most famous of these villages, but accommodation can be hard to find in the summer months. Better to head to nearby Montreal, which is less visited but equally picturesque, with 600-year-old houses, a remarkable church and a view to die for. From here you’ll be able to explore the Morvan, the local chateaux and basilicas and the region’s vineyards. Casamundo has villas for rent across Burgundy, including a lovely three-bedroom cottage in Montreal.

From £480 (020 3514 9377; casamundo.co.uk).

Giles Milton

For our other expert holiday selections in France see our top 10 beach holidays in France, activity holidays in France, culture holidays in France and food and drink holidays in France.

This article was first published in November 2014 and updated and republished in July 2015

Travelore Breaking News: Germanwings Jet Crashes In Alps With 150 Aboard; No Survivors Expected

By Lori Hinnant, AP

A man who appears to have waited for the missing flight 4U 9525 reacts at the airport in Duesseldorf, Germany, Tuesday, March 24, 2015, after a Germanwings passenger jet carrying 148 people crashed in the French Alps region as it traveled from Barcelona to Duesseldorf. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein)

PARIS - A passenger jet carrying 150 people crashed Tuesday in the French Alps as it flew from Barcelona to Duesseldorf, authorities said. As search-and-rescue teams struggled to get to the remote, snow-covered region, France's president warned that no survivors were expected.

The crash site was at Meolans-Revels, near the popular ski resort of Pra Loup, according to Eric Ciotti, the head of the regional council in southeast France. The site is 700 kilometers (430 miles) south-southeast of Paris. But with mountains all around and few clear trails into the area, access to the crash site was expected to take time.

The Germanwings Airbus A320 plane left Barcelona at 9:55 a.m., sent out a distress signal at 10:45 a.m., then crashed in a mountainous zone in France at an altitude of about 2,000 meters (6,550 feet), said Pierre-Henry Brandet, the French Interior Ministry spokesman.

Brandet told BFM television he expected "an extremely long and extremely difficult" search-and-rescue operation because of the area's remoteness.

Germanwings official Oliver Wagner told German television that Germanwings flight 9525 carried 144 passengers and 6 crew members. He did not give a breakdown of nationalities on board.

Germanwings is a lower-cost unit of Lufthansa, Germany's biggest airline. It has been operating since 2002, part of traditional national carriers' response from rising European budget carriers. It serves mainly European destinations. I

The Germanwings logo, normally maroon and yellow, was blacked out on its Twitter feed.

Family members arriving at Duesseldorf airport were taken from the main terminal to a nearby building, which airport employees partially covered with sheets for privacy. At Barcelona airport, police escorted several crying women to a part of the airport away from the media. One woman held a jacket over the head of another woman, who was sobbing.

The owner of a campground near the crash site, Pierre Polizzi, said he heard the plane making curious noises shortly before it crashed.

"At 11.30, I heard a series of loud noises in the air. There are often fighter jets flying over, so I thought it sounded just like that. I looked outside, but I couldn't see any fighter planes," he told The Associated Press in a phone interview. "The noise I heard was long - like 8 seconds - as if the plane was going more slowly than a military plane. There was another long noise after about 30 seconds."

Polizzi said the plane crashed about 5-to-8 kilometers (3-to-11 miles) from his place, which is closed for the season.

"It's going to be very difficult to get there. The mountain is snowy and very hostile," he said.

The municipal sports hall of Seyne-les-Alpes, 10 kilometers (6 miles) from the Val d'Allos ski resort, was being set up to take bodies or survivors from the crash, according to Sandrine Julien of the town hall.

There was no obvious weather reason Tuesday why the plane went down. Capt. Benoit Zeisser of the nearby Digne-le-Bains police said there were some clouds but the cloud ceiling was not low.

In addition, the safest part of a flight is when the plane is at cruising elevation. Just 10 percent of fatal accidents occur at that point, according to a safety analysis by Boeing. In contrast, takeoff and the initial climb accounts for 14 percent of crashes and final approach and landing accounts for 47 percent.

In a live briefing Tuesday, Hollande said it was likely that a number of the victims were German.

"It's a tragedy on our soil," he said.

The last time a passenger jet crashed in France was the 2000 Concorde accident, which left 113 dead - 109 in the plane and four on the ground.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel spoke with both Hollande and Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy about the crash, immediately cancelling all other appointments.

At a briefing in Berlin, Merkel told reporters she would travel to the crash site region on Wednesday, and that Germany's foreign and transport ministers were already en route. She said her thoughts were "with those people who so suddenly lost their lives, among them many compatriots."

"The crash of the German plane with more than 140 people on board is a shock that plunges us in Germany, the French and the Spanish into deep sorrow," Merkel said.

She reminded everyone that the cause was not known.

"We still don't know much beyond the bare information on the flight, and there should be no speculation on the cause of the crash," she said. "All that will be investigated thoroughly."

The A320 plane is a workhorse of modern aviation. Similar to the Boeing 737, the single-aisle, twin-engine jet is used to connect cities between one and five hours apart. Worldwide, 3,606 A320s are in operation, according to Airbus.

The A320 is certified to fly up to 39,000 feet but it can begin to experience problems as low as 37,000 feet, depending on temperature and weight, including fuel, cargo and passengers.

The A320 family also has a good safety record, with just 0.14 fatal accidents per million takeoffs, according to a Boeing safety analysis.

The German Federal Bureau of Aircraft Accident Investigation was sending three people to France to join the investigation. French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve, the country's top security official, and the German ambassador in Paris were among those heading to the crash site.

In Madrid, Rajoy suspended his agenda to preside over an emergency government meeting about the crash.

"Like everyone, I lament this incredibly sad and dramatic accident," Rajoy said.

Antonio San Jose, spokesman for the Spanish airport authority AENA, said his agency was working with Germanwings to reach out to relatives of the victims.

Spain's king and queen, in Paris on Tuesday, canceled their previously planned state visit and offered their condolences to all who lost a loved one in the crash.

___

Thomas Adamson and Elaine Ganley in Paris, David McHugh in Frankfurt, Geir Moulson and David Rising in Berlin, Frank Augstein in Duesseldorf, Al Clendenning in Madrid, Joe Wilson in Barcelona and AP Airlines writer Scott Mayerowitz in New York contributed.