Inside Attrap’Rêves, a Bubble Hotel in a French Pine Forest

These quirky pods are located only 10km (6mi) from Marseille, but with woodland around, they feel appealingly secluded both from the bright lights of the big city and – importantly, given their see-through walls – each other. The five bubbles each have a bedroom with quirky furniture, an entrance chamber and a small bathroom beneath a clear, spherical dome through which you can see trees and the star-packed night sky.

There are full glamping comforts here: each bubble is fully furnished, with electricity and running water. Breakfast and dinner can be brought to your door, and there is a pool and massages. But the natural environment is at the heart of the experience. This is Provence, home to lavender fields and the rich, shifting light that entranced the Impressionist painters. Service aims to be low-key, so guests can relax into the region’s rhythms, and telescopes and star charts are provided.

Attrap’Rêves, which was set up by two recent graduates in 2010, strives to be low-impact, too – its bubbles are made of biodegradable plastic. Tahitian-style huts and a treehouse are also on offer, but the bubbles – and the chance to lie back and gaze at an expanse of Mediterranean sky from your woodland lair – are Attrap’Rêves’ key selling point.

Attrap’Rêves is just east of Marseille, which combines a rich trading history with excellent bars and restaurants. Chic but approachable Aix is to the north, coves and beaches dot the coast and the forests and hills of the Massif de la Sainte-Baume are to the east.