For families and friends wanting time together in an undiscovered part of France (yes, there's at least one qualifying area), there's a lovely country home owned by a kindly Scotsman near La Baule on France's Atlantic coast in southern Brittany.

The large villa has seven bedrooms and baths. Having stayed and slept there I can attest to its comfort: well equipped kitchen (with microwave, dishwasher and washer/dryer), nicely furnished rooms, bedrooms with ironed linens, a heated pool, well-landscaped, and cows in the fields. Bikes are provided. It easily sleeps 14, can be seen by going to 'villaslabaule.com' and, being owned by a generous Scot rest assured, the price is right!

La Baule has a six mile long crescent shaped beach near the rugged Côte Sauvage coastline. Nearby Guérande is an unspoiled medieval walled town overlooking more than 5,000 acres of privately owned salt marshes. Here the world's finest sea salt, Fleur de Sel, is harvested each summer as the families have for the past 1,000 years. Golf courses abound; bike paths are clearly marked; and fine dining is found in tiny sea-hugging villages.

A few leisurely hours north in Normandy is Bayeux's Château de Sully - the perfect location for visiting the Beaches, Arromanches, the William the Conqueror tapestry, Caen, Mont-St-Michel, and St-Mâlo. Out the window this exquisite four star château also has cows in the fields plus a pool, flowers and herbs in the gardens. Here the Michelin star dinner may be as enjoyable as your lovely appointed room.