Domaine des Etangs

From the outside, the Domaine des Etangs looks like a castle you’d find in a children’s book: A turreted, honey-colored chateau, set on the edge of a lake, and surrounded by acres of forests and ponds in a little-visited corner of southwest France. From the moment you arrive, the other-world vibe is hard to shake off, as is the warmth and whimsy of the reinvented chateau interiors with their Matisse and Picasso artworks hanging on the walls, and salons with magnificent pianos and telescopes. There are just seven rooms in the castle (the other 22 are spread across six cottages and an adjacent building), all adding up to a triumph of elegance, tranquility and undeniable romance. Taking cue from the setting, the activities here are fit for royalty- think lazy picnics in the chateau’s formal gardens, afternoon tennis, rowing on the lake and checking into the estate’s old windmill for a massage or a long soak in the pool-sized Gallo-Roman bath. The Domaine des Etangs also has a Michelin-star restaurant to its name, it’s hard to find better- or more impeccably served- food this side of France.