Hotel Le Saint James

This Relais & Chateaux hotel is just made for lovers of contemporary architecture, superb food and fine wine.

Located on the right bank of the Garonne River – on a peaceful, vine-clad hill with views over Bordeaux – it owes its industrial-chic design to architect Jean Nouvel.

Covered in rusted metal latticework, the building evokes the region’s tobacco barns, and is trimmed with verdant gardens and a minimalist swimming pool.

Each luxurious room has its own personality, with contemporary art and design quirks – one has a Harley Davidson parked in the middle of it.

Le Saint James is a delicious rural idyll in France’s biggest wine region – topped off by a Michelin-starred restaurant, with a chef who runs a cooking school here.

But you will need a car – the city itself is 9km away, and world-class wineries are all around the region.