Domaine Roccas

This is the famed Lot, so plenty of spectacular châteaux are within easy reach, starting with explorations of the grounds at Château de Trenquelléon, 10 minutes’ drive from base. When there’s time for another, make it Château-Musée Henri IV (25 minutes away in Nérac), a 15th-century former royal residence housing a permanent exhibition on the history of the kings who called it home. Tastes for history not confined to les châteaux? Learn about the history of the humble prune at Ferme et Musée du Pruneau (25 minutes), where guests don the proverbial shoes of a pruniculturist and sample the produce, then chug into the past on the Pays d’Albret tourist railway from Nérac (25 minutes) to Mézin. Guests of a more urban bent may prefer to travel to Agen (30 minutes), where a cathedral, chapels, museums and parks are to be explored. Further afield, it’s an hour and 20 minutes to Bordeaux, where there’s plenty of shopping to be had, as well as a host of museums and gardens and the City of Wine to wander about. Not enough wine? The site’s 15 minutes from tours and tastings (in English or French) at Les Vignerons de Buzet. For more kid-pleasing stays, Walibi Sud-Ouest theme park and Lud’O Parc waterpark are both within about 25 minutes.