Le Manoir de Rougemontiers is a lovely country home, decorated with fine antiques, situated on a 1.7-hectare (4.2-acre) parcel among fields and tall shade trees, and authentically old yet renovated in a manner that provides every modern comfort. It is the kind of house one dreams of going to when the world seems too much with us, and the heart longs for a place that is soft and green, where small streams run between grassy banks, the wind sighs in the branches of ancient trees and forest paths are speckled with sunlight.

Adding to this idyllic picture is a feature that is rarely found in Normandy - a beautiful swimming pool, 6 m X 12 m (19.5' X 39'), set in a green meadow and surrounded by a deck of Burgundian stone. The pool is electrolyzed saltwater and is ecologically maintained. It has steps in the middle, and is heated from mid-June to mid-September. In compliance with French laws the pool has an electric cover that slides shut and assures safety. It also helps to retain help.

A twin-pillared entry gate leads to a curving driveway and a long sweeping lawn with shade trees. During our visit, a family of ducks passed by in an orderly column, heading for a nearby pond. The manor house, a symmetrically designed three-story red-brick structure with a gray slate roof, has a noble demeanor, solid and substantial. Its commanding aspect makes one think of Madame Bovary, in which Flaubert so poignantly describes the grand houses of the region where Emma, tormented with longings for a grander life, would attend sumptuous soirées and dance in candlelit rooms where silk and finery mingled with romantic intrigues.

Local records date the construction of Le Manoir de Rougemontiers somewhere around the end of the reign of Louis XVIII (1814-1824) and the beginning of Charles X (1824-1830). The style is unquestionably grande bourgeoise, as reflected in the high-ceilinged public rooms, parquet floors, sculpted wood staircases and several marble fireplaces. No fewer than 28 windows admit abundant natural light. The fleur de lys sundial in the garden is further evidence of the builder's aspiration toward nobility.

Shaded by a 250-year old fir tree is a picnic table for up to eight. Closer to the house, tucked in a flowered arbor, is a wrought-iron table and chairs for four.

The manor house is situated about a five-minute drive from Rougemontiers, a proud and tidily kept little village with a post office, bakery, grocery store and several other shops. Honfleur is about half an hour to the east, and Omaha Beach, where the American army landed on D-Day, less than an hour and a half to the west. Rouen, a fascinating city whose medieval history, 12th-century cathedral (painted by Monet) and vieux quartier are worth many visits, is a drive of about 25 minutes.

And then there's Paris. While Rougemontiers seems a thousand miles away from anything remotely urban, in fact Paris is only 140 km to the east, a drive of a little over an hour via the Autoroute. Le Manoir de Rougemontiers can thus be a pleasant country destination after a stay in the city. We can think of no better way to spend a two or three-week period in France than following a visit to Paris, ideally in one of JUST FRANCE's centrally located apartments, with a relaxing stay in a beautiful home in the Norman countryside.

Le Manoir de Rougemontiers has about 280 km2 (3,000 sq. ft.) of living space on three levels. On the first floor an entry hall with original tile floor leads to a spacious living room. This room has herringbone parquet floors and is furnished with a sofa and loveseat in front of a working red marble fireplace from the Louis XVI era. At the opposite end of the floor is the elegantly finished dining room, which has tile floors and light-yellow walls, a non-working marble fireplace, an impressive 19th-century carved credenza and, over an antique table for up to 10 guests, a crystal chandelier. Throughout the house original woodwork, beautifully restored and polished, complements the traditional 19th-century decor of the public rooms.

The kitchen, which has an intimate country ambiance, is equipped with modern appliances that include a large two-door refrigerator, dishwasher and microwave oven. The professional-level stove, with four gas burners, one electric burner and a large oven, is installed in what used to be an open fireplace. For breakfast or informal meals there is a wood table for four.

Also on the first floor is a lovely room boldly decorated in red and gold, suitable for a guest or for an afternoon nap, with an over-sized single sleigh bed. This rooms looks out onto the park in front of the house.

A wood staircase leads to the middle level where three lovely bedrooms, each charmingly decorated in a distinctive style, open from a central hallway that overlooks the front park. All the bedrooms are of good size, and each has pretty curtains and bedspreads, and bedside tables with lamps for reading in bed.

The master bedroom reflects the classic style that characterizes the decor at Le Manoir de Rougemontiers. This beautifully appointed room has a queen-sized bed in a Louis XVI frame, antique armoire, working fireplace and a commodious bathroom, finished in tile and marble, with a WC. The large ultra-modern shower has multiple jets and glass doors. Like the other ensuite baths, the master bath is brilliantly illuminated and fitted with long counters and mirrors. From the bedroom there are views of the front park and the surrounding fields and woods.

The first guest bedroom, dubbed "the Italian room" and decorated in a fresh but traditionally European manner, has a queen-sized bed in an antique wood frame, a non-working marble fireplace and large in-wall closet. The spacious ensuite bath has a huge bathtub with hand-held shower, and a WC. This bedroom overlooks fields that stretch from the back of the property.

The second guest bedroom, furnished in a striking art déco style, has a king-sized bed (which can be divided into twin beds) and an ensuite bath with a WC and stall shower finished in mosaic tiles. This bedroom, which has views toward the front and back of the property, is entered through a sitting room with sofabed that may be used for the occasional overnight guest.

A staircase leads to the upper level where there is a cozy bedroom with a double (140 cm, 55" across) bed in a beautiful carved wooden frame. A Louis XVI armoire with mirrored doors amplifies the space adn the pleasing palette of soft yellow walls and rich red fabrics. On a landing midway up the staircase is a guest lavatory finished in marble.

While it is a country home with an ambiance that reflects the slower rhythms of rural life, modern comforts are not neglected at Le Manoir de Rougemontiers. Amenities include high-speed wireless Internet; a television in the living room with DVD player and satellite reception, including CNN and BBC, and a laundry room with washing machine and separate tumble dryer.

In the graceful park that extends from the front facade to the entry gate are gardens and mature trees, including a gigantic weeping willow that spreads its branches over the lawn and provides shade for sitting outside. Near the swimming pool in the adjoining meadow is a massive old barn that once housed the carriages and farm animals of the estate. The barn has been renovated into a pool house with full bathroom and small summer kitchen with refrigerator for drinks. Pool furniture includes four aluminum-and-teak loungers and two pool hammocks.

Le Manoir de Rougemontiers is the ideal country escape for those who want perfect calm and bucolic beauty without any sacrifice of the comforts. It offers a genuinely rural experience of a character different from that found in the South of France, and could be a pleasant interlude between trips to Provence and the Côte d'Azur. Certainly there is no lack of places to dine well. In Rouen and its environs alone there are no fewer than 16 Michelin-rated restaurants (including five starred establishments, among them the two-star Gill), as well as a host of family-run bistros in the immediate area that offer traditional Norman cuisine.

And with the sites and museums and restaurants of Paris little more than an hour away, Le Manoir de Rougemontiers has another plus for the visitor to France - the opportunity to fashion into one journey the unparalleled sophistication of Paris and the unsurpassed beauty of the Norman fields and forests that lie just west of the capital.