New Boutique hotels

We stayed on Gallic ground this month and so French is the flavour as we travel from north west to south in search of stylish stays throughout France.

Washed up on the shores of southern Brittany, we found a cosy portside cabin in the sailing centre of La Trinité-sur-Mer. Across in Normandy, we hand-picked a laid-back and luxurious guesthouse in historic Honfleur.

Dropping in on Paris as we headed for the warm south, we discovered some extravagantly elegant serviced apartments with Eiffel views on Place de la Trocadéro.

Provence revealed Alain Ducasse’s heavenly hilltop hideaway, and a glorious golden villa perched on the edge of Aix’s old town.

We filled our pockets on the gold-lined shores of the Côte d’Azur, finding a majestic manor house in fragrant Grasse and a minimalist, modernist Riviera retreat in Cap d’Antibes. In St Tropez, we’ve welcomed a celebrity-filled spa by the seaside.

For good measure, we’ve cast an eye Stateside to keep up with the latest movements of UK boutique-hotel heroes, Firmdale – allow us to introduce their sparkly debut in New York.

Next month, we’ll be showing Italy some love with a few finds in Florence and one or two in Orvieto. And Francophiles don’t fear – we’ll be back with a chic chalet in Rhône-Alpes and a remastered water mill in Burgundy.