Château de Théoule

Long before it became a five-star retreat on the Riviera, this château started life around 1630 as a soap factory, then passed through a Lyon industrialist and a British aristocrat. Rooms sit across the Château, Villa Sirius and the harbourside Fisherman's House, each with its own scent story, from rosemary and mimosa to bergamot and myrrh. At Mareluna, chef Francesco Fezza draws on Mediterranean produce and Japanese training in Paris, while La Plage Blanche serves lunch and dinner with sand between your toes.