Nearly six weeks into summer, most vacationers will have likely booked their next getaway. Yet, if you, like me, thrive on adrenaline, chances are you might still be looking for the perfect place to spend a few restful days in the year's hottest weeks. As one of the world's most sought-after destinations for culture, gastronomy, and wine lovers, France is sure to have a spot on your travel bucket list. But what if I told you there are more booking-worthy places to visit in France outside of Paris that live up to the flair of the best Paris hotels?
If it is true that 'destination dupes' — lesser-known locations that offer holiday experiences similar to those of much busier and, often, pricier tourist destinations — are among the biggest travel trends of 2025, then why not put some time into researching a few addresses that can show you even France has a relatively undiscovered side? Haven't got any to spare? Not a problem, as I have a handful of design-conscious sojourns already lined up for you.
Spanning the nation north to south, each of these unexpected destinations presents you with the picturesque sights and the artistic and culinary heritage it is renowned for across the globe while helping you avoid the crowds. Some of these French boutique stays offer pioneering artist residency programs that periodically revive their interiors via original creative flair. Others are farm-to-table eateries so genuinely delicious that they will lure you into overnighting, or self-catered guesthouses conceived to maximize your immersion in nature: two accommodation types that make for rejuvenating slow living vacations.
Taken alone, places like these are not enough to solve the problem of overtourism. Still, they are here to let you explore a widely coveted country in new, unusual ways. Scroll to start discovering today.
La Folie Barbizon. Barbizon, Seine-et-Marne
5 Grande Rue, 77630 Barbizon, France
It didn't take more than a glance at the color-drenched rooms of La Folie Barbizon to dream myself away to this lush corner of France. Situated on the edge of the Fontainebleau forest in the birthplace of Impressionism, some 60 kilometers southeast of Paris, this fantastical retreat bears the signature of founder Lionel Bensemoun, who originally set it up in 2020 as an artist residency, a function the space continues to fulfil even today. Already known as the mastermind behind world-class Tuscan art hub Villa Lena, at La Folie Barbizon, the Paris nightlife entrepreneur has given free rein to a trailblazing group of artists, painters, sculptors, architects, and designers, unleashing their genius across "every corridor, every nook, and cranny" of the stay. The 21-room result, curated by Artistic Director Sarah Valente and interior studio Marion Collard, seamlessly incorporates surreal touches in a design-forward reinvention of the country house.
Not only does the hotel host a range of activities for both adults and the small ones — including exhibitions, live music performances, crafty workshops, and guided botanical walks out in the wild — but every area of this quirky new hotel feels itself a work of art. I simply cannot wait to be able to visit to see the maximalist Prestige Suite, Ugo Schildge's The Science of Sleep-like, three-dimensional flock for the Executive Room, and the Mediterranean extravaganza of La Folie Barbizon's layered bar and restaurant. Home to less than 2,000 people, the sojourn's eponymous village is frequently praised for its characteristic atmosphere and green, peaceful surroundings, which enable you to experience the area at your own pace. The wider Château de Fontainebleau, particularly, is often recommended as an alternative to the more frequented Versailles.
Book your stay at La Folie Barbizon.
Pavillon Southway. Marseille, Provence
433 Bd Michelet, 13009 Marseille, France
Culture insiders will know Marseille, once known under the infamous moniker of "Chicago of France", is currently enjoying a cultural and hospitality renaissance. Much bolder than the Hollywood-ready atmosphere of Provence's favorite fashion beach clubs, the city's ongoing rebrand rhymes with pop-up culinary concepts, thriving nightlife, and experimental artistic hubs: three characteristics that make its seaside locations into valid destination dupes for globetrotters keen to replace the inflated French Riviera glam with youthful, care-free fun. While already in the spotlight for the above reasons, Marseille also deserves a mention for this one-of-a-kind hotel design exercise, which alone is one of the most experimental places to visit in France outside of Paris.
Launched in the Mazargue district in 2020, Pavillon Southway "is a maison-œuvre, a total work of art," Emmanuelle Luciani, the gallery-cum-stay's founding artist, curator, and artistic director, tells me. Not a traditional hotel, it is a living artistic environment she created herself, "conceived by an artist, for artists, and our guests," Luciani says. A thoughtful, immersive way of experiencing Marseille's heritage and contemporary creation, it is "the inner sanctum of Southway Studio, where we host guests for our performances, ballets, and collaborative artistic projects," the founder explains.
Here, "art is not simply exhibited, it is lived". Each room of the property, Luciani tells me, including the two available for overnight stays, is a scenography composed of ceramics, frescoes, furniture, and stucco works, many of them created by French-American duo Bella Hunt & DDC. Rather than isolating these pieces in sterile spaces, the Pavillon, which seeks to reactivate the decorative and domestic arts in a contemporary context, "creates a continuous dialogue between tradition and invention, intimacy and form," the founder says. Booking a sojourn here grants guests access to their chosen room, as well as the rest of the property, comprising a kitchen, two living rooms, an exhibition salon, and a shaded courtyard, all imbued with the same aura of awe, magic, and mystery. The establishment "offers an alternative to fast hospitality," Luciani explains. "A slower, more sensitive experience, where art, history, and everyday life are intertwined." The act of hosting, she says, "becomes part of the creative act itself, an extension of the studio's practice". To make everything even more inspiring, travelers can join accredited art historians on guided tours of Marseille's must-see landmarks.
Book your stay at Pavillon Southway.
PAPOTTE. Bligny-sur-Ouche, Côte-d'Or
29 Rue du Moulin Papotte, 21360 Bligny-sur-Ouche, France
Design enthusiasts will rejoice at the sight of PAPOTTE, a boutique collection of four individually decorated guesthouses set in the breathtaking Burgundy countryside, half an hour away from the ornate, yet busier, Dijon, created to feel like "a second home". When the interiors come from the Paris-based Hélène Pinaud and Julien Schwartzmann at Livingetc's favorite, Heju studio, you can rest assured you are in for a treat. Still, in the imaginative renovation of this 15th-century mill, first opened in 2022, the two might have one of their most noteworthy projects. Alight with sunshine, each of the accommodations available, bookable as an entire unit or, exceptionally, by the room for sojourns of at least two nights during the summer season (only the 300-square-meter LE 15), feels like a masterclass in contemporary interior design. Neutral surfaces are turned on their heads through Bauhaus-y shapes of paint. Art Deco, farmhouse style, and modern glamours seamlessly converge across private and communal areas, while Heju's playful approach to interiors can be felt throughout the space.
PAPOTTE doesn't boast the services of conventional hotels: it doesn't have a concierge, a wellness and fitness area, or even a proper restaurant, though catering and a few foodie options are at hand. To put it in the founding hoteliers Charles and Capucine's words, "the luxury of tomorrow is greenery, space, and tranquillity," a vision they are already championing today. Open to visitors of all ages, including the youngest ones, PAPOTTE is embraced by walking, hiking, and cycling trails, swimmable water points, and nearly a thousand meters of fertile vegetable gardens, making it one of the best places to visit in France outside of Paris for lovers of the outdoors.
Whether you are enjoying a break at its checkered, zigzag café, choosing your favorite organic wine from the cellar, savoring bites out in the sunshine, or heading out into the dense network of estates, castles, and artisanal workshops that dot the Burgundy area, you are in good hands. Everything here has been curated down to the finest detail (read: the guesthouses' sponges) because, as PAPOTTE's owners insist, "it's no use having beautiful bedding in beautiful sheets if the rest doesn't follow". So who exactly is the stay for? Someone who wants to "live in an inspiring and beautiful place without it being a museum, and a place that makes you dream without it feeling exactly like home," they explain. The concept must work because, the two add, "30% of our guests return."
Le Doyenné. Saint-Vrain, Île-de-France
5 Rue Saint-Antoine, 91770 Saint-Vrain, France
I first came across Le Doyenné while compiling a list of the most beautiful Paris restaurants and was, as you can imagine, disappointed to realize that, because of its rural location in the Château de Saint-Vrain, an hour train ride from the capital in Île-de-France, I wouldn't be able to spotlight it in that roundup. Nearly exactly 12 months on, and here I am, ready to make a case for why you should swap your Parisian explorations with a weekend trip to this hip locale in the countryside. Once the rustic retreat of a noble French family, this sprawling property and, specifically, its former stables, have an intriguing history. It is here that French-American artist Niki de Saint Phalle and Swiss sculptor Tinguely dreamed up their colossal, creaturesque works in the 1970s. Since 2022, it has served as the creative playground of Australian chefs and owners James Henry and Shaun Kelly. Together with the Mortemart family, who has called the estate home for over 200 years, the duo has transformed this old barn into the beating heart of the surrounding regenerative farm.
Pairing the building's original beams with stylish mid-century furniture and sleek floor-to-ceiling windows, the restaurant puts seasonality front and center by serving dishes assembled exclusively with the ingredients directly available to the brigade on a given day. All produce, sourced from Le Doyenné's traditionally cultivated walled garden, is coupled with trusted local grocers and farmers' freshest game, poultry, dairy, and seafood in menus that vary everyday. The 11 uniquely crafted rooms available on-site, meanwhile, take Parisian style decor outside (of the city). Envisioned with the input of European design studio Project 213A, they are so spacious, bright, and personal, you'll never want to hear the words "check out". Think glossy foam green or lived-in terracotta tiles, intricate wallpapers, raw wooden lines, and unexpected pops of art. More than yet another one of the top places to visit in France outside of Paris, Le Doyenné is a lifestyle.
France might well have been on our radar as one of the hosts of some of this year's most coveted fashion beach club collaborations, from the iconic Saint-Tropez to the exclusive Monte Carlo.
Still, if there is one thing the above edit of artsy destination dupes proves, it is that there is even more to discover off the beaten track. Need an example? Explore our selection of things to do in Arles in a weekend for a start.
