French Riviera Yoga & Wellness Retreat: Medieval Village Escape

A typical day starts with a yoga class in the studio before breakfast. Classes are led by Benoit and visiting teachers, and they're pitched so both newer and more experienced students get something out of them — options are given rather than one fixed level. Breakfast is French: pastries, fruit, yogurt, coffee, and the occasional local specialty. After that, the day opens up. Some mornings have a workshop on breathwork or meditation; others have an excursion. Recent weeks have included a trip to the Cours Saleya market in Nice, a walk up to the Baou, and a visit to a nearby perfume workshop in Grasse.

Afternoons are often free. The village itself is small — a few narrow streets, a church, a couple of places to eat — but you can walk directly from the house onto marked trails in the hills behind. Saint-Jeannet sits at the foot of a limestone cliff that's popular with climbers, and the views from the top stretch along the coast. In the late afternoon there's usually a second yoga session, often yin or restorative, before dinner.

Dinner is cooked in-house most nights and leans on what's in season at the local market. They're used to feeding mixed groups and can handle vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free requests if you tell them in advance. Wine is usually on the table; this isn't an alcohol-free retreat. One evening a week is a group dinner out in the village or in nearby Vence.

The schedule is genuinely flexible. You can do every class and every excursion, or you can do one yoga session a day and spend the rest reading on the terrace. Nobody chases you. That said, the group size stays small enough that you get to know the other guests, and most people end up doing more together than they planned.

What sets this apart from a lot of yoga retreats is the location and how rooted the week is in it. It's not a resort with a yoga room bolted on — it's a house in a working village, with French food and French daily life around it. And it's been running long enough that the team knows exactly how to host without over-scheduling.

Benoit is the main host and teacher. He's been practicing and teaching for years and writes regularly on meditation, silence and practice. Other teachers join on specific weeks, so it's worth checking who's leading the week you're looking at. The house also rents its studio to other teachers and retreat leaders for their own events.

What's included

- 7 nights accommodation in the house - Daily yoga classes (most days two sessions) - Breakfast daily - Dinner at the house most nights - Selected lunches on non-excursion days - Guided walk or hike from the village - One or more excursions (market, hill village or local artisan visit) - Workshops on breathing, meditation or reflection - Use of the yoga studio and props - Wi-Fi in common areas

What's not included

- Flights - Airport transfers (can be arranged for an extra cost) - Travel insurance - Lunches on excursion days - Drinks and personal expenses - Optional treatments or extra activities - Tips and gratuities