Saturday, February 22 will open the 57th edition of the International Agricultural Show, Porte de Versailles in Paris. Between animal enclosures and hay bales, new exhibitors are appearing: the players in the tourism industry. Not surprising if we believe the latest figures from the Directorate General of Enterprises. Rural tourism accounts for almost a third of French tourist traffic.
The trend is not new, but the time has come to reclaim the down-to-earth stay. A bohemian neo-rurality for some, a return to identity values and peasant heritage for others. " We see a real need to get out of the big cities to reconnect with nature, cut with the screens, daily stress, and eat well ," explains Emmanuel Marill, Director France and Belgium of Airbnb. “ If previous generations had the opportunity to acquire second homes, young people are now turning more easily to rental. According to the platform, the number of passenger arrivals thus went from 150,000 to 3.7 million per year, in French municipalities of less than 2,000 inhabitants, between 2014 and 2019. These neo-farmers are mainly families with children in infancy, and the average length of stay of 4 nights.
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If the stay at the farm is a pretext for (re) discovering deserted rural areas, it also responds to another movement, that of spending your holidays near home. Last summer, 60% of French users of the Airbnb platform stayed in France and almost a million of them in their own region (mainly in Auvergne Rhône-Alpes, Nouvelle Aquitaine, Occitanie, Île de France and Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur). No way to put your hands in the ground, the countryside has become a space of relaxation, aesthetic and gastronomic, where we take care of the animals and the harvest of fruits between a session at the spa and a yoga class . Here are our 10 favorite addresses, in France and in Europe, for a breath of fresh air.
Masseria Moroseta, Italy
3 km from Ostuni, in the Apulia region, this authentic agricultural property has been transformed into a chic guest house, with six large rooms and suites surrounded by private gardens. Its tuff architecture pays homage to the farms of yesteryear, the time when air conditioning did not exist. For its table d'hôtes, the Masseria Moroseta can also count on the forty varieties of fruit and vegetables from its organic vegetable patch, as well as its 5 hectares of centenary olive trees. If you missed the harvest (in October), you can still take part in an initiation workshop in the heart of the olive grove, with olive oil tasting and cooking lessons.
Masseria Moroseta, from € 180 per night in a double room (low season rate, 2 nights minimum). Contrada Lamacavallo, 72017 Ostuni, Italy. Phone: +39 338 189 9199.
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La Donaira, Spain
On more than 250 hectares in the heart of the Andalusian countryside, the La Donaira estate is organized around a centenary cortijo, the traditional house. The Donaira
In the hinterland of the highly concrete Costa del Sol (1.5 hours from Malaga), nature has managed to keep all of its rights. Perched in the Andalusian province of Serranía de Ronda, the La Donaira estate reveals nine contemporary rooms, sheltered by stones from a hundred years old. We go there to learn horseback riding bareback, to try yoga on one of the site's Lusitanian horses, or to discover rare and endangered breeds of cattle such as the Pajuna cow. All in an idyllic setting. The must of the field: its workshops and conferences around the innovative farming methods of La Donaira Soil Academy, where are regularly received speakers such as the star from the farms, Joel Salatin, American farmer, who fights against GMOs and "junk food".
La Donaira, rooms between € 340 and € 640 per person per night (2 nights minimum). Camino de las Minas, s / n, 29430 Montecorto, Málaga, Spain. Phone: +34 951 39 00 59.
São Lourenço do Barrocal, Portugal
Destroyed and abandoned after the Portuguese revolution, the family property required 12 years of work to regain its appearance of yesteryear. Sao Lourenço do Barrocal
Renowned for its rural and ecological tourism, the Alentejo region, in the south of Portugal, is a leading figure in the chic and rural hotel industry. At 1:45 am from Lisbon, this 19th century family farm was completely destroyed during the Portuguese revolution, then abandoned before being rehabilitated in 2016. Natural materials (terra cotta, wood, stone, limed walls) are put in the spotlight in the common areas and around forty rooms of the establishment. On the program of a stay in São Lourenço do Barrocal: bird watching, introduction to astronomy, wine tasting and harvest of wild herbs in the organic vegetable garden.
São Lourenço do Barrocal, from 255 € per night. Monsaraz, 7200-177 Portugal. Phone: +351 266 247 140.
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Soho Farmhouse, England
This new half-ranch half-Downton Abbey refuge attracts a bohemian chic clientele and artistic cream from all over the world. Soho Houses
Wooden cottages, vintage tractors, water mill and chicken coop: all the codes of the farm are gathered at the entrance of this bohemian Cotswolds establishment, 45 minutes from Oxford. With its 40 hectares of greenery, it is one of the rare rural addresses of the Soho family, the ultra-cool private club imagined by Nick Jones for creatives and globetrotters. Its 18th century farmhouse has been converted into a “country” palace with a barn in an XXL swimming pool with adjoining spa, milk trucks as room service trolleys and an outbuilding in the cinema hall for the (many) days of rain. The opportunity to spend a weekend in the countryside, before the opening of the group's new address, scheduled in Paris at the end of the year.
Soho Farmhouse, cabins from € 300 per night for members, € 395 for non-members. Great Tew, Chipping Norton OX7 4JS, United Kingdom. Phone: +44 1608 691000.
Land of Stars, Morocco
The Moroccan ecolodge has the distinction of being self-sufficient: water is extracted from the ground, then filtered, and solar panels provide lighting for the site. Land of Stars
An oasis in the middle of the Agafay desert? From a distance, you could think of a mirage. This ecolodge nestled in a mineral valley, 30 km south of Marrakech Imperial, is exemplary in terms of sustainable development. Eighteen elegant and comfortable tents are erected facing the Atlas, near a vegetable patch and an organic orchard, arranged according to the precepts of permaculture. Site electricity is supplied by solar panels and water from the untreated infinity pool to irrigate the plantations. Do not miss the visit to the El Irch family farm, in the neighboring Sahrawi village, for an immersion in Moroccan peasant life and a memorable meal.
Until April 26, Terre des Étoiles organizes Yoga & Chill Sundays under a dome installed for the occasion, with yoga lessons, detox lunch and DJ set by the Franco-Brazilian duo Bon Esprit. Without forgetting the Full Moon Weekend, April 4 and 5, to celebrate the full moon with the astronomer Ali.
Terre des Étoiles, Agafay Desert, 40,000, Morocco. Phone: +212 5244 47375.
Country Lodge, Normandy
Large lounge with a glass roof and an open fireplace, the Lounge is the ideal place to relax in front of the surrounding countryside. Country lodge
"Your new country house". This is the promise of this rural hotel located in the Perche Regional Natural Park, 2h15 from Paris. In a hillside clearing, with no road nearby, 13 lodges (27 m²) and 11 cabins (47 to 57m²) are installed, all designed in wood to minimize the environmental impact of the project. Between two lengths in the swimming pool and a dive in the new Swedish bath, guests can attend the milking of goats or the harvest of vegetables from the vegetable garden in organic market gardening, before resting in the Lounge, a cozy building with a glass roof in steel in which sits an open fireplace. Young children experience the educational farm to approach and feed horses, rabbits, sheep, ponies and chickens, not to mention Zoé, the sow mascot of the Country Lodge.
Country Lodge, from € 260 per night for a cabin (4 to 8 people, decreasing price for the 2nd and 3rd nights) and € 200 for a lodge (4 to 6 people). Hameau les Epasses, 61290 Moulicent. Phone: 06 84 98 12 23.
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Le Barn, Yvelines
At La Serre, guests can taste traditional dishes, made with local products, from markets and producers nearby. The Barn
Nestled in the heart of the 200 hectare stud farm at La Cense, near Rambouillet, this property is said to have witnessed the hidden loves of Gabrielle d'Estrées and Henri IV. With its horses roaming free, its red sheet barns and its raw decoration, Le Barn sees Parisians in search of greenery parading every weekend. 45 minutes from the capital, we sleep in a room inspired by pre-existing agricultural sheds, transformed into cozy cocoons by the architect Christophe Vergnaud. The wellness area is housed in an old mill and the Nordic baths offer views of the forest and the horse paddocks. Other options: indulge in an Ayurvedic massage, indulge in a yoga class stamped Tigre Yoga Club (Mini Tigre course for children) or sit under the beautiful glass roof of La Serre, for bistronomic cuisine made from food from the vegetable patch or local producers.
Le Barn, double room from 175 €. Le Moulin de Brétigny, 78830 Bonnelles. Phone: 01 86 38 00 00.
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La Bourdaisière, Touraine
Built during the Renaissance, the castle has been listed as a Historic Monument since 1947. La Bourdaisière
Historic monument of the 14th century, in the heart of the Loire chateaux region, this family hotel with 25 rooms and 4 apartments is the property of Prince Louis Albert de Broglie, nicknamed "The Prince Gardener". Its pride is its 55 hectare park and its extraordinary gardens, among which the famous National Tomato Conservatory. During a stay at the castle, guests will be able to discover the 650 varieties brought together by the Prince and learn the secrets of agroecology in the experimental farm on the estate, aimed at developing large-scale permaculture. New: a labyrinth of cellars of 25,000 m² must be set up for visits before summer.
Château de la Bourdaisière, from € 110 per night in a double room. 25 rue de la Bourdaisière, 37270 Montlouis-sur-Loire. Phone: 02 47 45 16 31.
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Domaine de Murtoli, Corsica
To preserve the privacy of the guests, the 19 sheepfolds of the Estate are spaced apart from each other by several kilometers. Murtoli area
On a former land of shepherds in the south of Corsica, poor and arid, this private domain of 2,000 hectares is inaccessible other than by sea or by tracks leading to a long white sand beach. It is here that the 19 sheepfolds of the 17th century were redesigned, almost all with a private swimming pool and a tailor-made service. These houses, which can accommodate between 2 and 16 people, were designed to combine the work of the peasant, the shepherd, with that of the hotelier. Because being a farm is the primary vocation of the Estate. In each season, the hosts can take part in the agricultural life of the site: collect honey and immortelle in spring, harvest olives at the end of summer, berries and mushrooms in autumn, and tangerines in winter. The owners of Murtoli, producers of honey and cheese, also offer tastings of their Brocciu Passu AOP (slightly matured brocciu) and their smoked Tomme Sartenaise.
Domaine de Murtoli, open from April to early January, from € 420 for two people (rate valid for the month of April, for sheepfolds without sea view). Ortolo Valley, 20100 Sartène, South Corsica. Phone: 04 95 71 69 24.
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Casa Sallusti, French Riviera
The three eco-lodges at Casa Sallusti are open to the outside and have a large terrace. Casa Sallusti
Far from the bling-bling Riviera, this sheepfold converted into a guest house hugs the hilly slopes of the Nice hinterland. Three eco-lodges and a shed, decorated with antique furniture, nestle between oaks and olive trees, close to the natural swimming pool (an old washhouse) and the sauna. The mistress of the house, Isabella Sallusti, cultivates her orchards and her vegetable garden in permaculture and introduces her hosts during cooking lessons. Casa Sallusti also has a humanitarian vocation: the garden serves as a breeding ground for the So Food association and its seed bank for Cambodia.
Casa Sallusti, from € 220 for two people (6 nights minimum in July-August). 670 chemin des Collets, 06640 Saint-Jeannet. Phone: 06 13 27 11 11.
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