Château de Candie

Château de Candie Review

If you wish to experience "la vie Savoyarde" in all its pastel-hue, François Boucher charm, head to this towering 14th-century manor on a hill east of Chambéry, for not only is the perfectly intimate decor done up with mouthwatering antiques but the restaurant delivers more high-style on your plate. The large restaurant here is famous for its wedding feasts, but anyone can delight in its special treats, such as the rabbit terrine with shallot compote and an escalope de fruits de mer, where the copious seafood is arranged in the shape of a lobster. Even more delicious are the guest rooms, which range from blowout magnificent—the chandeliered nuptial chamber has a canopied red-velvet bed—to rooms done up in sweet peasant-luxe furnishings. Owner Didier Lhostis, an avid antiques collector, spent four years renovating, so rooms feature an array of delights—antique panels of boiserie, honey-gold beams, a grandfather clock, carved armoires, a 19th-century "psyché" mirror, and glorious regional fabrics. Better yet are views ranging over the neighboring Chartreuse monastery and village. So who can blame you for lingering over the lavish breakfast?