Charming
Bed and Breakfasts

Set on a hill above the village of Ittre, this pretty villa is surrounded by a flower-filled garden. To the rear, the garden looks onto the open countryside. The surrounding outbuildings, barn, stables, orchard and meadows create a delightfully rustic atmosphere. A small guest apartment has been installed on the first floor, on the side of the house, accessed by a private staircase. Next to the bedroom is a small lounge and a corridor, leading to the all-blue bathroom. In the morning, your hostess will be pleased to serve you breakfast on the terrace or in the kitchen-cum-dining room, which overlooks the garden. Next to the kitchen, she practises her other passion in her sculpture studio. Working from home means she is nearly always around to welcome her guests. She and her family are keen riders, so horses are also welcome and stables and meadow-grazing are available on request.

Set alongside the main road from Furnes to Ypres, this 1930s cubic house is unmissable. You leave the unattractive outside world behind as you go through the gate into the organic garden, where you will be warmly welcomed by your hostess. Her garden is well-known and opens to the public on a few days each year. The three guest rooms on the first floor are spacious, comfortable and prettily decorated. Each has its own en-suite bathroom and tea-and-coffee-making facilities. Breakfast is served in the dining room or on the terrace and includes fresh local produce and regional specialities. A great base from which to visit Ypres or Furnes, for a cycling break or a tasting of the famous local beers!

Located a stone’s throw from Ghent, near Bruges, Knokke and the Belgian and Dutch coasts, this ancient house is surrounded by a huge landscaped park and is a real oasis of peace and quiet, very welcome after a hard day’s work or sight-seeing. Decorated and furnished by your hosts Jan and Catlyne, who both used to work in the textiles business, the house is charming with its antique furniture, its ornaments collected here and there and its lovely curtains and bedspreads. The main house offers, on the first floor, three comfortable guest bedrooms, each with a private bathroom, decorated in a more traditional style. In the recently renovated annexe is a large dining room with small bistro-style tables, where breakfasts and evening meals are served. This room is very atmospheric, with its large wood-burning stove heater and its small reading room overlooking the lake. Upstairs are three new guest bedrooms, decorated in a more contemporary style, with a choice of industrial, maritime or romantic furniture. The delightful park with its ancient trees, its lake crossed by a pretty bridge, its ducks and geese, creates a bucolic atmosphere.

Beautiful houses in contemporary styles, such as this one, are rare enough to warrant special attention. It was built in 2000 to the design of architect Jan Maes in the suburbs of Antwerp, and contains a consultants' office, a private home with two guest rooms, plus a guest annexe in the garden. The garden is superb, with its beautiful flower-beds, a discreetly-located swimming-pool and a pretty view out over pastures where Highland cattle graze. The two modern, sober and elegant guest rooms are on the first floor of the house, and share a shower-room. The garden annexe contains a studio that can sleep two or four adults, with a bathroom, lounge, dining area and kitchenette. Breakfasts include fresh local produce and are served in the beautiful contemporary-style dining room overlooking the garden, or on the terrace in the warmer months. A perfect spot for lovers of architecture, contemporary art or gardens!

Just outside the ancient fortified town of Montreuil is a small nineteenth-century gentleman's residence, whose pretty longhouse has been converted to this B&B. The four guest bedrooms are decorated in shades of grey and terracotta, and their patinated antique furniture and ceiling beams give them plenty of charm, which is increased by the ancient oakwood floors and the seagrass mats. On the ground floor is a large lounge with a delightful Picardy fireplace that is a cosy retreat on cooler evenings. Next door is the dining room where breakfasts, carefully prepared by your hostess, are served on a prettily-laid table. To get to two of the guest bedrooms you have to go through the garden, which is the great passion of your host. He designed the lay-out and planted it with predominantly white-flowered plants. This B&B is a perfect illustration of "la douce France" and in addition is close to several golf courses, sandy beaches and the countryside around the Somme estuary.

The Boukai-Moulin house is a beautiful country house surrounded by a 14-hectare park, that can sleep 18 to 20 people. The lounge with its bar, the dining room, the modern, fully-fitted kitchen and the seven en-suite guest bedrooms are tastefully decorated. In a separate wing of the building is the well-being suite with its heated swimming-pool, sauna and sunlamp. In the huge garden, guests can dabble at fishing, play boules or have a barbecue. This is an ideal spot for a family or a group of friends to have a delightful stay.

Back in the eighteenth century, the Lord of Lesve built a charming hunting lodge for use by his eldest son and heir. Today, the house is occupied by Christiane Henry de Frahan, her sister and her nephews. In the wing in which she lives, Christiane now offers four guest rooms in the traditional style of this old family home. They have lots of charm, with their old wooden floors, antique furniture and chintz curtains. All of them overlook the delightful French-style gardens, containing many mature specimen trees, including the majestic sequoia tree that gives its name to the B&B. The perfume from the roses wafts through the whole garden in summer. Recommended at all times of year for all those who are seeking to recharge their batteries and relax while they receive a massage in the special massage room or while walking in the beautiful surrounding countryside. A lover of nature and her region, Christiane guides her guests in their discovery of the surroundings and in their choice among the many local restaurants. From time to time, especially in the winter, meals made with local organic produce are served in the dining room or lounge as guests wish, enhanced by an open fire.