Good evening

We’ve hit that stage of winter when the horizon appears to be a blur of watery grey. A time when we dream of long lazy lunches, blond sandy beaches and summer breezes.

So, we asked Carolyn Boyd, France specialist and author of Amuse Bouche, to lift our spirits with a selection of sunny escapes across the Channel. A soupçon of sophistication to kindle our spirits during the bleak midwinter.

Her choices range from a chateau within reach of the villages and vineyards of the Languedoc to a hotel in Auvergne that’s nestled amid the hottest natural springs in Europe. There’s a restored 18th-century hunting lodge with impeccable style in Normandy and a 16th-century house in the Basque Country that serves temptingly tasty local produce in the shadow of the region’s highest peak.

There are city boltholes in Dijon, Lyon and Bordeaux, and there’s the scent of salty air and citrus at beach escapes in Provence, Corsica and Brittany.

Roll on summer!

But if you can’t wait that long, writer Jon Bryant recommends a seaside town in the south of France with year-round sunshine. While much of France closes its shutters for the winter, Sète, near Montpellier, comes alive, “The oyster and truffle seasons are in full swing and bright, sunny weather makes it the perfect place to sip a glass of muscat on the banks of the town’s Canal Royal,” he says.