We recently spent a week driving through France, taking LeShuttle to Calais before making our way through Étoges, Longecourt, the Loire Valley and countless villages in between, eventually ending in Paris. The rule was simple: avoid the motorways whenever possible.

We took inspiration from our Loire Valley road trip last year but wanted this one to feel different. New roads, new villages, plenty of unplanned stops and repeated attempts at speaking French that were enthusiastically delivered, if not always entirely understood.

Having now travelled through a fair amount of France, we can say with some certainty that it might be our favourite European destination. The scenery. The food. The pastries. The markets. The vintage shopping. The architecture, art and fashion. And, perhaps controversially, the people. Yes, we said it. The French have always been incredibly kind to us — including in Paris, despite everything you've been told.

Paris will always be one of our favourite cities, but we've come to believe that some of the best of France exists beyond it.

Hire a car. Leave the motorway. Stop in villages you've never heard of. Buy a baguette because you happened to drive past a boulangerie. Stay in a château. Drink the wine. Attempt the French. Live a little aristocratically.

This isn't an exhaustive guide to France. Think of it as a postcard from our journey: the places we'd return to, the discoveries we'd happily share and a few we'd quite like to keep to ourselves.

THE FRENCH COUNTRYSIDE

STAY AT CHÂTEAU DE LA TOUR EN BRENNE  | COMPULSORY
We've been fortunate enough to stay in several châteaux across France. This has become our favourite.

Previously owned by a duchess, the château is grand without feeling imposing, surrounded by extensive grounds and beautiful views across the water. Inside, there's that wonderful tension between old-world France and the comforts you'd actually like to live with. But the real reason we'd return is Kristof and Ivan. Former corporate types who left that world behind to breathe new life into the château, they have created somewhere that feels remarkably generous and personal.

Do not skip dinner. With only a small number of guests staying at any one time, everyone gathers around the table together, conversations moving between English and French over genuinely magnificent food. By the end of the evening, strangers don't feel quite so strange anymore. And if it's available, book the Deluxe Queen Suite. The views across the estate are worth it.

STAY AT CHÂTEAU DE LONGECOURT-EN-PLAINE | COMPULSORY
For an entirely different château experience, stay here. Château de Longecourt-en-Plaine remains in the hands of the family that has owned it for generations, and that history isn't hidden behind ropes and closed doors. The family still owns it, the objects accumulated over centuries remain throughout the house, and because there are so few guest rooms, staying here feels remarkably intimate.

For one night, we genuinely felt as though we'd somehow inherited a French château.A special mention to Othilie, who welcomed us with such charm and gave us a little tour of the property.

STAY AT LE CHÂTEAU D'ÉTOGES | COMPULSORY
If you prefer your château experience with the trappings of a luxury hotel, choose Étoges. Beautiful grounds, elegant rooms and enough grandeur to remind you that you are, in fact, sleeping in a château. Make time for the gardens — particularly when the fruit is in season — and we'd book the Deluxe Double Room with the bath.

BAGUETTES & PASTRIES AT BOULANGERIE JOUVENÇON, SAINT-HILAIRE-SAINT-MESMIN | COMPULSORY
We stumbled across this boulangerie on last year's road trip and liked it so much that we deliberately built it into this year's route. It did not disappoint. Quite simply: the best baguette we've ever eaten. The fact that something this good can also be so inexpensive feels almost offensive to anyone accustomed to London prices. Put this bakery in London or Paris, and there would be a queue before the doors opened.

Instead, it sits quietly in Saint-Hilaire-Saint-Mesmin making extraordinary bread. Exactly how we like our discoveries.

SHOP AT FAIT EN AFFAIRE, NOAILLES | COMPULSORY
We're almost reluctant to include this one. Hidden away in a small town in Hauts-de-France is one of the best vintage fashion shops we've found in Europe.

The curation is excellent: high-street pieces sit separately from historic luxury houses that no longer exist, while another section is dedicated to the Chanels and Saint Laurents of the world. It's the sort of place that reminds you why vintage shopping is infinitely more interesting when you leave the obvious addresses behind.

Please don't all go at once!

SHOP AT CAVEAU DE CHASSAGNE | COMPULSORY
Chassagne-Montrachet is one of our favourite wines, so when the opportunity arose to visit the vineyards responsible for some of the bottles we've enjoyed over the years, there was really no question. We got in the car.

The drive alone is worth it: vines stretching across the Burgundy landscape and the sort of scenery that makes you understand why wine inspires quite so much devotion. While there, make a stop at Caveau de Chassagne, a wonderful specialist in Burgundy wines. It's the kind of place where you arrive intending to browse and somehow leave contemplating how many bottles you can reasonably fit in the car.

Even if you're not much of a wine drinker, we'd be surprised if you left completely empty-handed. We certainly didn't.

SHOP AT MAISON MAILLE, DIJON | COMPULSORY
Dijon deserves the stop in its own right. It's beautiful, historic and wonderfully easy to wander around without much of a plan.

And naturally, you cannot visit Dijon and return home without mustard. Maison Maille makes the souvenir decision very easy. Buy several pots. You'll inevitably wish you'd bought more.

DINNER AT CÔTÉ SUSHI, DIJON | COMPULSORY

Fresh, delicious and an unexpected discovery during our time in Dijon. No elaborate review required. We ate extremely well here and would go back. Sometimes that's enough.

COFFEE AT CASAMOON, DIJON | COMPULSORY
Excellent coffee in a very cool setting. We didn't try the matcha ourselves, but from what we could see, they appeared to be taking it as seriously as it deserves to be taken — ceremonial-grade rather than the suspiciously pale concoctions that have somehow found their way onto far too many London menus.

If you're passing through Dijon, make the stop.

PARIS
And then, inevitably, Paris. No matter how much we fall in love with the French countryside, there is something about arriving in Paris that still feels like an event.

STAY AT TOO HOTEL PARIS | COMPULSORY

We first stayed at TOO Hotel a few years ago and returned on this trip. It remains one of our favourite places to stay in Paris.

It's removed from the obvious tourist neighbourhoods, which is precisely part of its appeal. Think the polish and modernity of one of Canary Wharf's smarter hotels, but considerably less corporate — and with Paris stretching out beneath you. The rooms are contemporary and exceptionally comfortable, there's a spa and gym, and the views are extraordinary. Have the free breakfast at the hotel. Don't debate it.

For us, there's another very practical reason we return: secure underground parking, which is invaluable when Paris is the final stop on a road trip. Book early and the price can also be surprisingly reasonable for Paris.

COFFEE AT TWO DOORS | COMPULSORY
Very good coffee, a cool room and the sort of crowd that makes you want to sit around for longer than originally planned. It feels Parisian without trying desperately to announce that fact.

If you want an alternative, Partisan Café Artisanal is another favourite.

LUNCH AT YGAM | COMPULSORY
A true neighbourhood restaurant — the kind of place where the owner appears to know half the room by name. The food is excellent, but what we particularly loved was how removed it felt from the version of Paris designed for visitors. Come here for lunch and experience the city at a slightly more local pace.

DRINKS AT HÔTEL DE CRILLON | COMPULSORY
A slightly bourgeois recommendation? Absolutely. But there is no Paris without a little opulence. The Ritz remains our favourite, but Hôtel de Crillon is a very worthy alternative when you want live music, an excellent bar and an excuse to dress accordingly.

And don't skip dessert.

DINNER AT BONNE HEURE | COMPULSORY
We had an exceptional corn-fed chicken here — one of those deceptively simple dishes that you continue talking about afterwards. The restaurant sits in a particularly good part of Paris, close to Soho House, with the sort of neighbourhood energy that makes sitting outside half the experience.

Get a table on the terrace, order generously and people-watch between courses. Paris doing what Paris does best.

ANTIQUE SHOPPING AT PA

UL BERT SERPETTE | COMPULSORY
Go with a very healthy bank balance or an extraordinary amount of self-control.

Paul Bert Serpette is home to hundreds of dealers selling furniture, art, jewellery, fashion and objects you didn't know you needed until approximately thirty seconds earlier. If you're seriously collecting vintage design, it's dangerous. If you're not buying anything, go anyway. Few places offer quite as much visual inspiration in a single afternoon.