With a lively town centre, river activities and some of France’s finest châteaux on the doorstep, Tours is in a class of its own, writes Karen Tait

Punchy tones and cheerful patterns create an uplifting feel in Sylvie and Mark Taylor’s cottage, where maximalist design brings verve to each bijou space

Some place names might see us stifle a giggle – not least Montcuq in Quercy. Forget the jokes, though, it’s a beautiful village with a lot going for it, says Joanna Leggett

Riverside towns are charming and sought after – Carolyn Reynier picks out three set along France’s longest waterway, the mighty River Loire

As we are ramshackle ramblers, Dieppe distracts us from our art tour of southwest France’s Languedoc-Roussillon. As if that’s not enough, we then border-hop between Catalonia and France, before detour

A French medieval hilltop town is the location of Toile Blanche, a former 19th-century farmhouse reimagined as a boutique hotel