This Lorraine town has a “mini-Versailles” of a château, worth visiting. And in a wooded park to the south, this handsome, turreted 19th-century mansion is now a luxurious hotel (Relais & Châteaux).

On a hillside in the Argonne forest (deer are sometimes seen), owner/chef Paul Aguesse and his wife, Roselyne, “an excellent hostess”, run this smart restaurant-with-rooms.