My extravagant weekend on the cognac trail
A two-hour drive from Bordeaux airport, the town is a honeypot for cognac lovers who come to make private tours of the vineyards and historic cellars of such prestigious cognac houses as Rémy Martin and Hennessy. Maison Martell's museum showcases the history of the production house, running since 1715 when Jean Martell arrived from Jersey aged 21. The museum's archives span 300 years, including letters written to the original vineries and art deco cognac ads. We enter the dim caves of the founder's cellar, sweet with the musky scent of cognac. There dusty oak barrels dating from the 1600s hold the original eau-de-vie which is still used to mix Martell today.
Nearby, in the heart of the Bordeaux terroir, is the historic estate that was home to several generations of the Martell family. The 16th-century Château de Chanteloup is so idyllic that as we arrive in soft sunshine the tame baby deer that live in the grounds come to greet us on the terrace. Inside, it's art de vivre elegance, exquisitely decorated with pink velvet sofas with orange trim, white marble fireplaces, turquoise lamps and antique rugs found in the attic and hung on the walls as tapestries.
The château has recently been opened to the public, although still only 'private friends of Martell' can stay. For everyone else, at the cost of €500 per person, it is possible to book a private table for six for a unique gastronomic experience: a pairing menu created by the Martel cellar master Christophe Valtaud and the three-Michelin-star chef Alexandre Mazzia in which rare Martell cognac is paired with gourmet cuisine, and served in a private dining room.
The decor is softened minimalism. To one side of us is the open kitchen — all steel and chefs in whites. The menu is an opera of foods, prepared by the orchestra of chefs who we watch apply glazes, fire blow torches and sending our way edible objets d'art, some shaped like blossoming flowers, each paired to a richly smoked cognac.
We are served langoustine with a seaweed and popcorn bonita and sesame and lemon-geranium condiment paired with Martell Odyssée. Followed by sweet, firm ceps cannele soaked and flambeed with cognac served with Martel XXO Grande Champagne. Coffee ice cream with cardamom, crystallised tobacco-leaf and cognac milk is served with Martell Epoche.
It is an epic experience. And, like all the best things in this quiet town, only found if you know where to look.
The Signature Martell Dining Experience costs €500pp, with a Cellar Experience €800, and with a Private Blending Experience, €1,800, martell.com
House of Hennessy offers private visits dedicated to the life of its founder Richard Hennessy, which includes a rare tour of the founder's cellar, and a private guided tasting of Hennessy XO and Richard Hennessy, a blend made from some of the cellar's scarcest eau-de-vie.Details Richard Hennessy Private Tour, €500pp, hennessy.com
An hour-long vintage horse-drawn carriage ride around the vineyards of this family-run artisanal cognac producer includes a tour with a member of the Bourgoin family and the chance to sample Pineau des Charentes among the vines. Details From €90, bourgoincognac.com
An experience dedicated to Louis XIII, Rémy Martin's finest cognac, takes guests inside the house's oldest cellars, on a tour of the Grande Champagne vineyards and includes tastings of the exclusive Louis XIII cognac.Details From €1500. Louis XIII The Experience. House of Remy Martin, Juillac-le-Coq,. www.remymartin.com
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Times
4 hours ago
- Times
My Grand Tour part 1: How I learnt the art of decorum in Paris
'En garde!' I cry, brandishing an épée I don't know how to use. I'm at a fencing club in Paris's Latin Quarter, its walls glinting with sabres and coats of arms. Club members in armchairs watch me with amusement: a swaggering Englishman about to lunge into a Grand Tour of Europe. It'll take a master swordsman to cut me down to size. Unfortunately, I'm up against one. Jean-Pierre de Pinel de la Taule dares me to attack. I spring off the piste; he parries with flicks of his blade. So I advance. 'Go back!' the club's general secretary commands. 'To England?' I ask. 'Eventually, yes,' she retorts. I'm being skewered on all sides. I'm on a two-week odyssey through western Europe, taking in Paris, Geneva, Rome, Venice and Vienna. It's my stab at the Grand Tour, the 17th to 19th-century rite of passage for young aristocrats, such as Shelley and Byron, who wanted to become more cultured. I'm hoping it'll give me finesse, once I stop tripping over my own feet. Thankfully Jean-Pierre, spry at 82, corrects my footwork and shows me how to beat and trap blades. Lesson over, we salute and bow. He tells me that the club, Salle d'Armes Coudurier, Paris's oldest fencing hall, is under threat ( I wonder how Parisians will settle disputes without it. • Discover our full guide to Paris Starting their journey to Paris, many aristos were sick on the ferry from Dover. I too felt queasy crossing the Channel — I had eaten an ignoble quantity of cheese in my first class carriage on the Eurostar. At Gare du Nord my chauffeur, Alain Cacheux, picked me up in a vintage Citroën DS: stylish and high on horsepower, it was the closest I could find to a Grand Tourist's cabriolet (£137 an hour; The roof stayed shut. Black clouds were marbling the sky and Paris was soon strafed by hailstones the size of macarons. 'I've never seen weather like this!' Cacheux shouted. I watched, monarch-like, as chic Parisians were papier-mâchéd by wet leaves. We arrived at Le Bristol, named after the 4th Earl of Bristol, a Grand Tourist with exacting standards. The hotel lives up to them, from its courtyard garden to its ancien-régime-style suites. With chandeliers and baroque furniture, mine was so gorgeous I nearly swooned. Good thing there was a chaise longue to catch me. Le Bristol is on Rue du Faubourg St Honoré, where mansions sprang up when Louis XIV's court moved to Paris from Versailles in 1715, bringing etiquette with it. These rules still govern France's elite — now wielded in boardrooms, not ballrooms. To prepare me for my social elevation, Thomas Ka, an etiquette guru, has summoned me to his decorum dojo. • Best hotels in Paris Only in France can ignoring someone count as good manners and gifting wine be considered an insult. 'It's like saying, 'Your wine is not good; I've brought my own,'' says Ka, the founder of the finishing school En Toute Élégance (from £80 an hour; drilling me in dinner party etiquette. And if someone sneezes, don't bless them — blank them. Anything else, Ka explains, would draw attention to the fact it happened. 'I'm teaching you not to jump into traps,' he says as our food arrives. How hard can this be, I think, preparing to slice a tomato. 'Your knife will not touch your salad,' Ka snaps. I set my knife down, switch my fork to my right hand, delicately prong a chip and slowly move it to my mouth. Now I'm in for it. My knife's bladed edge is facing Ka, a signal of hostility. He bears the insult with patience. Two hundred years ago he would have had me horsewhipped. Ka moves on to feudal foreplay: the baisemain, or hand-kiss. 'It's for married women, in private places,' he warns (unless the woman is gloved and standing in front of a church). 'You must kiss but not kiss, touch but not touch,' he instructs. His voice thins to a whisper. 'It takes guts. You've just got to do it.' • Great affordable hotels in Paris And, as we bid farewell, he does do it — kissing my hand so softly I blush like a debutante. Touché, fencers: Ka doesn't need a weapon to disarm a man. While etiquette lessons prepared aristocrats for leadership, knowledge of art conferred cultural bragging rights. But not all tourists appreciated Paris's oeuvre. 'In general rubbish to 'em,' harrumphed the English playwright David Garrick of its collections in 1751. I'm more receptive on my private tour of Musée d'Orsay, which opens with a luminous nude (private tours from £266; 'What do you see?' asks my cicerone, Hugo Loyon, as we ponder La Source by Ingres: a painting of a damsel with an urn. 'Probably not just a naked lady,' I say, sensing intellectual ambush. 'Oui,' he purrs. 'It's an idea.' The subject is naked, but veiled in allegory. There's nothing realistic about her: her skin glows like bone china and her posture is classical. She and her urn are symbols of nature and fertility. • Where to eat in Paris These themes were approved by the Académie Royale, founded in 1648, which insisted art be idealistic, pious, didactic — a cordon sanitaire between patrons and the masses they instructed. But as we near modernity, rebellion brews: artists reject elite ideals for personal expression. The vestal canvas is defiled with lurid strokes of colour; abstract sculpture loosens the elite's monopoly on meaning by inviting the viewer to supply their own. Life imitates art. By 1789, revolution grips France. The Académie is suppressed and toffs like me are abridged on the guillotine. But liberty's triumph over superstition doesn't bring heaven on earth. Instead my tour ends at The Gates of Hell, Rodin's 20th-century labour in plaster. Human figures writhe, reach, suffer — each representing a torment: lust, rage, longing. It's modern man, stripped of guiding faith. No longer looking upwards, he turns inward. I leave on the 18.18 to Geneva. In the dining car, I lift my soup spoon … and pause. Is this the one for consommé? I half expect Ka to burst in and swat it from my hand. But no one is there. Just my reflection in the window, the outline of mountains rising in the dusk. Jack Ling was a guest of Byway, which has ten nights' B&B from £2,423pp, including rail tickets and accommodation ( and Le Bristol, which has room-only doubles from £1,860 (
Times
4 hours ago
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10 beautiful boutique hotels in Europe – that still have availability for summer
Is there anything more delightful than a lovely boutique hotel? Elegant swimming pool set-ups, comfy lobby lounges, friendly bartenders and chic rooms you can pretend are your own little European pied-à-terre. The best have fabulous restaurants and views stacked with natural bounty — but for many, you'll have to go outside the typical Mediterranean locations. A spontaneous trip to the Continent is a great time to try something different, whether a lesser-trodden Italian region or an Alpine country in summer. From 12-room Piedmontese hideaways to family-friendly lodges on Portugal's surfer coast, these ten boutique hotels deliver on small-scale style — and they all have decent availability in July and August. Prices listed below are for summer. This article contains affiliate links, which can earn us revenue The handsome stone farm buildings of this understated complex weave around an alluring swimming pool, shelving out from the shallows like a turquoise Riviera bay. With just nine rooms and three suites, this place feels intimate, and the chunky wood beams, cool farmhouse tiles and freestanding tubs give rooms a romantic lilt. The surroundings are just what you'd expect from a Provençal hideaway: olive groves, lavender trails and scented pines. You'll find the hotel in Orgon, a 40-minute drive from pretty Avignon — a perfect jumping-off base for exploring Provence villages with a hire Room-only doubles from £306 ( Fly to Avignon • Best affordable hotels in France We love a small but mighty hotel, and Nordelaia's 12 rooms cover every shade of Italian style. Take the La Foresta suite, with polished wooden panelling, bright teal and mid-century details, or the Estate room, draped in lush four-poster fabrics in Medici-in-feel golds. Independently owned, adults-only and packed with character, it's in the northern, foodie province of Piedmont in the small town of Cremolino (expect excellent cheeses and robust bottles of barolo) and has a beautiful hillside setting. Lounge by the infinity pool with its staggering views of the countryside, join morning yoga or indulge in a winery visit or cooking class arranged by the hotel team. Details B&B doubles from £379 ( Fly to Genoa Lovingly restored by its owners the Valenzuela family, this 19th-century farmhouse in the town of Monesterio overlooks mountains and pastures in agricultural Extremadura. Whitewashed and russet-tiled, it contains 16 rooms, a pool and mini-spa with sauna and whirlpool. While it may be tempting to spend every day surveying the panorama of the pool terrace (let's ignore the fact that the gym has an equally wow-factor view), these guys are all about getting you out into the landscape: horse riding through the meadows, stargazing at night or visiting the farm to learn about the region's culinary B&B doubles from £170 ( Fly to Seville In surfy Ericeira, a 40-minute drive north from Lisbon, this self-proclaimed 'slow hotel' suggests you press pause on the grind with yoga sessions on the deck, spa treatments, rental bikes to pedal along the coast, and long dinners at its restaurant. It's family friendly, but heavy on grown-up style: a photo-worthy pool deck backdropped by coastline, freestanding bathtubs in suites and freshly grilled sardines on the sunset-view veranda. Rooms have that effortlessly stylish Portuguese vibe: sand-coloured throws, white and pine, with flashes of mermaid-tail tiles in suites; and there's an included shuttle down to Ericeira town. The nearest beach is just a few minutes' drive away, with many more within day-trip B&B doubles from £367 ( Fly to Lisbon • The most beautiful places in Portugal Rooms may be simple at this sultry coastal hotel outside the city of Cagliari, but you're here for the verdant grounds — swaying palms, a briskly cool freeform pool, curtained double day beds and, crucially, less than a five-minute walk to the beach. This swathe of Sardinia's southern coast, in the Baia de Chia area, is a honeypot of natural beauty: miles of protected, grassy sand dunes, flamingos balancing in glittering lagoons and unspoilt, cream-coloured beaches. Follow the boardwalk path from Aquadulci's car park to the cooling shallows of Su Giudeu beach — a five-star dinner awaits you in its garden restaurant when you B&B doubles from £380 ( Fly to Cagliari Another adults-only candidate, this rustic-chic Turkish bolt hole has just 17 palm-thatched safari tents tucked into a dramatic sliver of cliffside outside Fethiye. Emphatically unspoilt, the surroundings are all thick pine forest and dramatic boulders (you'll be plunging into the Med from the rocks rather than a sandy beach, but the swimming is heaven). Peace and quiet is paramount here — you'll hear the odd chillout tune wafting over from the sunset bar, but the spaced-out plateaus with loungers, plunge pool and nocturnal outdoor cinema are all about unwinding. Take the hotel boat along the coast for completely undisturbed swimming, or lunch out at the beach club Room-only doubles from £466 ( Fly to Dalaman If you're seeking cooler pastures than the traditional Med this summer, consider Austria's lakes and mountains. The Pinzgau region outside Salzburg sees highs between 20 and 25C in July and August — comfortable enough for view-tastic hikes around Priesteregg, an 18-chalet boutique resort (nearby are 250 miles of marked Alpine trails). Last year this 'chalet village' opened the Seehütten, a trio of sweet wooden chalets with direct access to its spring-water bathing lake, and gorgeous views of the surrounding peaks. Book a massage, tuck into Austrian caviar or local kasnocken dumplings at the restaurant, or join outdoor yoga sessions surrounded by pines and B&B doubles from £587 ( Fly to Salzburg For those who like to be at the cutting edge of things, try this 22-room farmhouse outside Palma, Mallorca, which opened in May. A ten-minute drive from Palma's airport, it's one of the speediest of this list to get to; but don't be put off by the proximity to Magaluf — this is the sibling to Palma's esteemed Can Bordoy hotel, with a tranquil swimming pool in manicured gardens, cushioned loungers beneath the trees and a terrace straight out of an ancient Balearic village. The farm-to-fork Mallorcan restaurant is one big draw here — while a tennis court, spacious room terraces and freshly squeezed orange juice from the estate's trees all perk up your B&B doubles from £310 ( Fly to Palma • More great hotels in Mallorca An hour's ferry from the far-busier Santorini, Folegandros has a more rugged feel, with traditional Cycladian villages, secluded beaches and mountainous hiking trails. The five-star Anemi is equally fuss-free but straight-from-a-magazine stylish, with a cluster of low-lying sugar-cube buildings with a tennis court, an outdoor gym, the island's first spa and an outdoor saltwater infinity pool with zingy yellow parasols. The 44 rooms are minimalist and largely all-white, but for sparing splashes of the same yellow in a rug or bathroom wall. There's a relaxed Greek restaurant serving just-caught seafood or you can visit the hotel's 30-acre organic vineyard for tastings, yoga classes and sound B&B doubles from £244 ( Fly to Santorini Overlooking the Adriatic Sea and next to Novigrad's glamorous marina, Palazzo Rainis is the former 19th-century home of a Venetian chemist converted into an elegant adults-only retreat. There are just 16 sophisticated rooms and suites, with chocolate-brown parquet flooring, bottle-green armchairs and an art deco flair. All have balconies or terraces and most have sea views. Guests waft between the spa with its Finnish sauna, the outdoor pool surrounded by gardens and the destination restaurant serving upscale Istrian dishes. There's a pine-backed beach on the doorstep and the hotel can arrange sunset cruises along the coastline, truffle hunting trips, sea kayaking and wine B&B doubles from £531 ( Fly to Pula • Best places to visit in Croatia Additional reporting by Siobhan Grogan
Telegraph
7 hours ago
- Telegraph
I jumped into ‘filthy' River Seine... and survived
It is one small step for this Paris correspondent but a giant leap for Parisians. After more than a century, during which it was off-limits to the public owing to pollution and safety concerns, the River Seine has reopened to bathers. And I was one of the first 100 members of the public to take a dip in the river since 1923. On Saturday, three areas of the river opened to the public – one near the national library, another within view of the Eiffel Tower, and a third in the bras-Marie on the Right bank of the île Saint-Louis, not far from Notre-Dame. A Parisian myself for almost 30 years, it was with great excitement and some trepidation that I chose to take the plunge in the most central of the bathing areas, the bras-Marie, the first to open to the public. We had all heard the endless debates over whether the once-filthy river was really clean enough. Would the sewers overflow and flood the Seine with faecal matter? Would we all contract within three days? Encouragingly, the water looked a relatively healthy green and exuded no evil odours, at least from a distance. The truth is Paris has come a long way since Jacques Chirac – in a classic case of Gallic hyperbole – famously declared in 1988 that he would be swimming in the Seine within six years. In fact, it took 36 years and a herculean clean-up operation costing €1.6 billion (£1.3 billion) – including a vast run-off basin that can hold 20 Olympic swimming pools' worth of water – for his dream to come true when last year the Seine was famously opened to athletes for the Paris Olympics. Even so, heavy rain meant that only five of the 11 scheduled events were able to take place. Now, authorities are confident they have improved matters even further and to prove this point, Eve Plenel, the head of public health for Paris City Hall, was up for a dip. 'There is no need to worry. The water is tested every 15 minutes for everything. If (it) is not swimmable, it will be closed until it is, just like beaches,' she said, insisting the Seine was now among the most closely scrutinised waterways in France. Personally, I was more concerned about the prospect of a close encounter with the pacu, the testicle-biting fish that was caught a decade ago in the Seine. 'I know they eat pigeons' I also struggled to erase images of a 2.17 metres giant catfish caught last month within a few hundred yards of the bathing zone, cut off from the rest of the river by a few fig-leaf buoys. I know they eat pigeons. Small children at a push? Thankfully, the bathing area is out of bounds for the under-14s. Another worry was being squashed by a bateau-mouche, the tourist boats that ply the river and point out the sights. Some 300 craft pass the bras-Marie every day. Paris town hall officials assured me they were barred from passing during bathing opening hours – to the reported fury of tourist operators. Perhaps all this – plus the coolish weather after a blistering heatwave – explained the relatively modest queue that formed ahead of the 8am opening time when Paris' Socialist mayor Anne Hidalgo came in person to see the first bathers off. In the queue was Noémie Wira, 30. 'I'm a Parisienne and it's such a thrill to be among the first to take a dip. It's taken a century, but the promise has been kept. It's great to say our generation can swim in the Seine in three amazing locations. Am I worried about my health? I'll let you know in three days,' she told me. Sarah Hosking, 53, originally from Vancouver, Canada, and a Parisienne for the past 17 years, said she felt 'a little leery about opening my mouth' but that it was a 'dream come true' to be able to swim in central Paris, 'just like in Copenhagen'. She sang the mayor's praises for 'pushing it through'. 'Enough of doing things that are just for tourists. We want stuff for us.' Only on Tuesday, Paris was sweltering under record 40C temperatures but the air was almost chilly as I approached the water. However, there was relief when we were informed the temperature was a bath-like 25C. I strode through the turnstile without a ticket – all bathing areas are totally free and there is no time limit, but the bras-Marie zone is limited to 150 bathers at a time (the other sites can hold 300 and 150 respectively). A green flag fluttered over the wooden decking that serves as a changing area with lockers to store belongings. There are no changing rooms. A yellow flag signals caution, and red is no-go. Caps and goggles are not compulsory but all bathers are required to be tethered to a fetching yellow inflatable tow float. The next hurdle was the obligatory 'swim test'. 'Well, it's not really a test, we just observe people's first few strokes and fish them out if they don't pass muster,' said lifeguard Trady, who kept an eagle eye on bathers. 'This is a small, protected area but the Seine is a dangerous place,' he warned. Indeed, a sign outside points out potential threats: passing boats, currents, and 'gripping plants'. Intriguingly, it was only in French. Could this be some covert plan to reduce over-tourism?, I mused. But now, the moment had finally arrived and I glided into the river and took a few strokes before plunging below. It felt exhilarating and frankly historic to be among the first 100 members of the public to bathe in Paris since 1923. Parisian Hector Pellegars, 27, said: 'I didn't expect it but there was a feeling of intimacy between me, the city and the river which I have never experienced. It was also very weird as the image I had of the Seine when growing up in Paris was an open-air sewer. Now the water is clean enough for us to swim in and it's fantastic.' Paddling past was Tom, a British 24-year-old from Bath now living in Lyon. He said: 'In England, I've swum in some pretty grim rivers. Now we realise just how grim they are with all the water company problems going on, so this doesn't bother me much, frankly.' Could it catch on in the UK? 'The Thames is a bit of a long shot. But if they've done it here, why not?,' he said. It was a delightful and surreal experience to view Paris from water level after all these years of observing it from the banks. Indeed, it had become a running joke for me to predict: 'One day I will literally go 'in Seine'.' That day has finally arrived, and the City of Lights will never be quite the same again.
