Yogi House

Classic French Country Cottage

Located in the pastoral countryside of Normandy, this stone cottage for up to 10 possesses a nomadic heart with a classic French country exterior and a modern focus on wellness. The property's fashion designer/yoga instructor owner, Sophie, and her American musician artist husband, Darren Lee, created the feel good, deep nature escape as a destination for rest, rejuvenation and meditation. Five bedrooms and four baths fill the pretty structure, with a relaxed living room set off the peaceful kitchen, where a giant, country house hearth has been refitted with a wood-burning stove, and an easygoing farm table invites gathering.

Bedrooms are travel-inspired with a vintage kick, with beds that can be converted from doubles to a pair of singles laid with natural bedding. A greenhouse sitting area offers an indoor Vitamin D cure, and the flowering, tree-shaded, 2000sqm garden is set with chaise longues, outdoor dining and sitting areas, a ping pong setup, and barbecue. A yoga studio is planned for fall 2024 in the home's upper level, along with an additional bedroom.

Around

Located between land and sea, the stone cottage is set in the Orne region of Normandy, between the Perche and Calvados regions. With direct access to foot and bike paths out its front door and numerous marked trails crossing the region, the cottage makes a great base for easy exploring. River fishing is a meditative pastime of locals in the region, and it's about an hour’s drive to the Calvados region, home to the famed Normandy Beaches. The town of Caen and its WWII Memorial are 50 minutes away, and the pretty seaside resort towns of Cabourg and Deauville are both about an hour by car.

Closer to home, the Lac de Rabodanges is a favorite destination for walkers (a path encircles the lake), cyclists, and watersports lovers (a station at the lake rents canoes, kayaks, and jet skis). The 17th-century Château de Rabodanges dominates a local hillside with a classic French garden by Le Nôtre, and castle fanatics shouldn’t miss William the Conqueror’s birthplace, a fortified medieval castle that dominates a rocky hilltop and offers a multimedia tour that recreates the life and times of the Norman dukes and kings.

The Perche Regional Natural Park is a pretty drive from the cottage, and the forest there offers dozens of bike and hiking paths, and the area’s towns (Mortagne-au-Perche, medieval Bellême, and panoramic La Perrière) are known for their vintage markets and weekend fleas. Food and drink lovers will love the cider and crêpes, oysters, scallops and seafood, butter, Calvados and Camembert and other AOC=protected fromages (Livarot, Pont-l’Evêque and Neufchâtel) available for tasting along the deliciously defined Normandy Cheese Route.

Location

Nearest airports: Paris (2.5 hours by car or 2 hours by train); regional airport at Caen (50 minutes)

Best time to visit

April to October