Guidel: Le Domaine de Kerbastic

With its 17th/18th-century manor house set in stunning 80-acre grounds at the end of a tree-lined allée near the seaside resort of

Guidel in southern Brittany, the Domaine de Kerbastic has belonged to the princely Polignac family since the mid-19th century. In the mid-20th, it also became a cradle of artistic activity—the late Comte Jean de Polignac and his wife Marie-Blanche Lanvin di Pietro, daughter of fashion designer Jeanne Lanvin, entertained a coterie of artists, composers and writers including Cocteau, Poulenc, Stravinsky, Colette, the Nabi painter Vuillard and Marcel Proust, who is said to have modeled his fictional Duchesse de Guermantes on his hostess.

Princesse Constance de Polignac has now refurbished the legendary château and opened seventeen rooms to the public, each named after family members or illustrious former guests. The walls of the Chambre Cocteau are graced with the artist’s line drawings and decorative scribbles dedicated to Marie-Blanche, and the Chambre Comte Jean is handsomely arrayed in blue-and-gray-striped fabric. Guests are free to use the music room and wander the beautiful French-style garden landscaped by Jean-Claude Forestier, a friend of Monet. The Domaine also uses alternative energy sources whenever possible, the lawns are pesticide-free, and in the restaurant head chef Raphaël Dubroeucq focuses on organic cuisine using locally sourced Breton produce. Plans are also afoot to plant an organic kitchen garden, and install a naturally heated and filtered swimming pool. Doubles from €200.

Château de Kerbastic, Guidel, 02.97.65.98.01. website

Originally published in the May 2009 issue of France Today

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