Puducherry, South India, India

Palais de Mahé is the pick of the crop of heritage properties in this former French colony. Situated a stone’s throw from the seafront in the thick of the old quarter, this elegant, double-storeyed mansion sports a distinctive yellow-ochre and white colour scheme. Its rooms are huge, with high ceilings, dark-wood furniture and doors that open on to a deep, stone-floored terrace overlooking the courtyard pool. Everything is beautifully finished and refined, and the location perfect.