Just an hour’s train ride west of Paris, near the border of Normandy, is a château so charming, so French, the resident sheep practically “baa” with an accent. Set on 100 well-manicured acres along the river Eure, the 18th-century Domaine de Primard in Guainville was the private home of French actress Catherine Deneuve for three decades, before it was sold and transformed into the five-star retreat it is today. Head gardener Gérard Germaine, who has been tending to the century-old trees and 250 varieties of roses here for 18 years, still leads tours of the grounds. Fun fact: the lady of the estate liked to keep the boxwood hedges high enough to cover all but the top of her head. The garden remains impeccable, and a major draw; it more than earns its Jardin remarquable status from the French Ministry of Culture.
Now under the ownership of the Fontenille Collection—a series of high-end boutique hotels and restored estates in France, Italy, and Spain—Primard is a 40-room hotel and spa that is a beloved spot of weekending Parisians and foodies. Each detail is somehow more romantic than the next: Visitors actually sit out back along the Eure painting en plein air, trying to capture the cacophonous swirl of greens in the water—perhaps the same way the water lilies captivated Monet in nearby Giverny. Many guests are coupled up, on a babymoon, or have returned with a newborn in tow. And there’s whimsy around every corner: a living room has 50-odd fake mushrooms dotting the walls; the lobby hallway has an equal number of escargot climbing up to the ceiling.
