A seductive country filled with languid landscapes and a gentle pace of life, France has been giving birth to a succession of brilliantly run wellbeing retreats for years. For UK travellers, it has the added benefit of being so near and easy to get to – why not take the train and travel slowly, to really get yourself into the mood?

Serene surroundings

When you choose a retreat because of its location, being able to get out into the landscape as part of your retreat is vital. At Yobaba Lounge, a gorgeous bohemian-style chateau in the sleepy village of Chalabre in the foothills of the Pyrenees, there’s a nearby lake to swim in and oodles of interesting historic places to explore between sessions of mindful movement and remarkably good raw meals.

Sivananda yoga teacher Tamsin Chubb, of Little French Retreat in the tiny medieval village of Montesquieu near Agen, includes visits to the local medieval market town and walks through oak woodland and rolling vineyards on her carefully crafted yoga, Ayurveda and coaching retreats.

Then, there’s the exceptional Chateau de Mouillac, a grand 200-year-old house nestled among the vines of Cognac near Saint-Saturnin, where you can enjoy walks in the forest and among the vineyards on private retreats with raw meals, nutritional advice and healthy therapies.

Restore and Revitalise retreats in Puyssentut have been working wonders for cancer sufferers and their carers amid fields of sunflowers in the glorious rural Gascony countryside commune of Homps in Southwest France. 

Find other yoga, fitness, life-coaching and wellbeing holidays in France under our ‘France’ section of queenofretreats.com. Here’s to a life of bien-être. 

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Book a retreat to restore your balance, heal after illness or simply go slow.

Image: Getty Images