L'Orée du Ciel

L’Orée du Ciel is a 19th-century stone house with blue shutters, set in the hamlet of Mouzieys-Panens — open country five minutes from Cordes-sur-Ciel. You come here for the quiet: a garden shaded by a big tree, flower beds, and a saltwater pool facing the fields, with loungers, parasols and towels provided. It is the kind of place where you put your bags down and the afternoon ends by the water.

Patricia and Philippe let three rooms — Céleste, on the ground floor with direct access to the garden and pool, Stella and Luna upstairs, one looking onto the pool, the other onto the garden. Throughout: bare stone, beams and parquet, a large bed and a private shower room. The house is adults only (no children under 12) and takes no pets — two cats already live here. No air conditioning, but thick walls and rooms that stay cool.

In the morning, the home-made breakfast is served by the garden, with fresh produce; on some evenings Patricia adds a table d’hôtes or, in summer, gourmet plates, and picnic baskets for heading out on the trails. Cordes-sur-Ciel and its medieval town are five minutes away, with the river, walking paths and cycling loops all around. For anyone who likes to start the day at the table, it is one of the places where breakfast is included.