Maison des Mots

The house tucks into a maze of pretty sloping streets beside the slow-moving Loire – not yet discovered by hordes of tourists. You can make yourselves at home in the elegant, tasteful sitting room, eat in the dining room or the garden, have tea and coffee in the cookery library – Barbara-Jo is a keen cook and offers a light meal on one night of your stay – seasonal and delicious.

Breakfast includes fresh pastries from the bakery, fruit, yogurt, homemade cake and eggs any way you like. Wander the partly walled garden to find decorative beds full of flowers, herbs and fruit trees, plenty of garden furniture for resting and reading with views over the rooftops and the sound of occasional church bells.

Quiet bedrooms rest on the garden side of the house, one has an extra single and both have spotless, luxurious bathrooms. Take an evening stroll along La Promenade des Anglais, lined with plane trees, and watch the river slide by.