A comfortable hotel room is all well and good. But France, a country that has always excelled at the art of living, is quietly raising the stakes. Across its regions, a new generation of hebergements insolites has emerged. From the top of a Breton lighthouse to the inside of a snow groomer at 2,000 metres, here are some of the most extraordinary places to sleep in France.
1. Stay in a lighthouse: Phare de Kerbel in Morbihan, Brittany
France has a couple of lighthouses where you can actually spend the night, each a completely different experience. The most dramatic is Phare de Kerbel in Riantec, Morbihan, the only lighthouse in the country where you sleep at the very top of the tower, in a glazed studio 25 metres up with a 360-degree panorama over the Quiberon Peninsula and the open Atlantic. For something more remote, the Île Vierge keeper’s cottage near Plouguerneau in Finistère puts you at the foot of the tallest dressed-stone lighthouse in the world, an 82.5-metre giant, in a whitewashed stone house with traditional carved box beds, sleeping up to nine and reached by boat from the mainland.
2. Stay in a wine barrel: Les Foudres du Chêne du Py, Beaujolais
On the Côte du Py, the volcanic hillside that produces some of Morgon’s most distinctive wines, the Domaine Le Chêne du Py has converted two large oak foudres (the vats used to age wine) into a guest room. One barrel is fitted out as the bedroom, the other as the bathroom. The setting is about as authentically Beaujolais as it gets: you are surrounded by the vines in the heart of one of the ten Beaujolais crus. The domaine offers bike loans, a panoramic outdoor pool, and a charcuterie board with a bottle of Morgon for two on request.
3. Stay in one of the world’s great observatories: Pic du Midi de Bigorre, Hautes-Pyrénées
As the last cable car descends for the evening, 27 guests remain at the summit of the Pic du Midi de Bigorre. The Pic du Midi observatory has been peering at the universe from this Pyrenean summit since 1882, and for one night it’s yours; dinner in the restaurant, a guided stargazing session with the astronomers, and a bed with a view that no valley hotel can touch. Reservations open two years in advance.
4. Stay in a snow groomer: La Plagne, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
In La Plagne, one of the resort’s most unusual places to stay is a decommissioned piste groomer, transformed into a self-contained mountain suite at 2,000 metres above sea level. Reached by snowcat and surrounded by silent, closed-off slopes once the ski day ends, it offers a strikingly remote overnight experience, yet inside there is real comfort: a double bed, bathroom, heating and even a home cinema system.
5. Stay in a bubble hanging over a cliff: Cocoon Village, Corsica
Near Porto-Vecchio in southern Corsica, Cocoon Village offers one of the island’s most memorable overnight stays, with a collection of transparent sleeping bubbles set on a cliffside above Lac de l’Ospedale, among ancient pines and the fragrant maquis. The setting is the main attraction: secluded, dramatic and designed to make the most of the landscape, with nights spent beneath a canopy of stars and the Mediterranean somewhere beyond the darkness.
6. Stay in an airplane: La Caravelle, Vosges
In the Vosges countryside, one of France’s most unusual places to stay is a decommissioned Sud Aviation Caravelle, transformed into a gîte with all the character of its aviation past still intact. Bought from Corsair and transported to its rural setting, the aircraft was once one of the great symbols of post-war French aviation, and today its fuselage has been converted into two independent loft-style stays, each sleeping up to four guests and fitted with walk-in showers. The wings still extend across the landscape and the cockpit remains in place, while inside, porthole windows and the slight tilt of the cabin make for an overnight stay that feels part boutique retreat, part aviation time capsule.
7. Stay in a zoo: Zoo de la Flèche, Pays de la Loire
At La Flèche in the Sarthe, Zoo de La Flèche Lodges offers one of the Loire Valley’s most distinctive overnight stays, with themed lodge suites set within the grounds of a working zoo. Inspired by landscapes such as the savannah, jungle and Arctic, the lodges combine a strong sense of escapism with real comfort, including private terraces and hot tubs that make the experience feel far more secluded than you might expect. An early breakfast served inside the park, before the day’s visitors arrive, adds to the appeal, giving guests a rare chance to enjoy the setting at its quietest.
8. Stay in a WWII bunker: Bunker L479, Brittany
On the Breton coast near Saint-Pabu, one of France’s most unexpected places to stay lies inside a former German radar bunker, half-buried in the sand. Carefully excavated and transformed over 18 months, the vast 24-room structure extends partly 12 metres below ground, with its wartime spaces imaginatively reworked for modern stays: the old map room is now a living room, the communications room a bedroom, and the operations centre a hammock room. Sleeping up to eight guests, it retains plenty of atmospheric nods to its history, from military-style signage to period-inspired objects.
Looking for a place to stay in France?
For more inspiring places to stay in France, explore the accommodation listings in our directory, where you will find everything from characterful countryside retreats to standout stays with real personality. And for more ideas, insider recommendations and beautifully written features on where to go, what to see and how to experience the best of France, take a look at France Today magazine. It is the perfect companion for planning your next trip, whether you are searching for a boutique hotel, a rural escape or something delightfully out of the ordinary.
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