Château de Chantore, Normandy, France

This 18th-century mini-palace is remarkable not so much for its treasury of period art and furnishings, but for the passion and verve of Bernard and Iñaki, the antiques-loving pair who have restored it so wonderfully. What could so easily have felt like a museum is instead an informal, vivacious country retreat, albeit with three large, luxurious rooms and two suites (some with views of Mont St-Michel). A stroll around the extensive grounds might reward with views of red squirrels, roe deer or even a wild boar, and certainly with vistas including venerable cedars, a ‘ruined’ folly water tower and swan-paddled lakes. Sip cider made with apples from the château’s orchards, and breakfast on eggs from the Sebright hens pecking in the yard.