Camping Not Your Thing? These 9 Luxurious Glamping Spots in Europe Will Change Your Mind

I’ll hold my hand up and be the first to admit that I strongly dislike camping. I’m just not that kinda gal. In my opinion, when you go on vacation, you want an upgrade from your usual life, not a downgrade that involves basic facilities, bugs, and a hot, stuffy tent.

That was until I went on my first glamping trip. Then suddenly I changed my mind. This experience was the type of camping I could absolutely get behind. 

Granted, it wasn’t a 5-star hotel, but it wasn’t basic either. I slept on a bed, not a blow-up mattress with a single sleeping bag that made me feel claustrophobic. There was even a free-standing bath.

9 Luxurious Glamping Spots in Europe

Whether you’re considering a treehouse in Scotland, a luxury tent on a Tuscan beach, or a glass treehouse reflecting the light off a Swiss lake, there’s something here that will make even the most committed hotel person take a second look.

Here are nine of the best glamping spots in Europe, one for each country, that prove roughing it has never looked this good.

France: Domaine de la Vitarelle, near Carcassonne

Twenty minutes from one of the most extraordinary medieval cities in Europe, Domaine de la Vitarelle sits within ten hectares of private cedar woodland in the Languedoc countryside.

Each safari tent has a private bathroom with a shower, toilet, and washbasin, a terrace, and a kitchen equipped with a gas hob, fridge, microwave, coffee machine, and everything you’d need to cook a proper meal. Towels and sheets are included, WiFi is free, and the setup is comfortable enough that you quickly stop noticing you’re in a tent at all.

The Luxury Lodge Safari Tent goes a step further, with a covered terrace, a plancha for outdoor cooking, and a private jacuzzi. Lie in it on a clear night, and you’ll have a view of more stars than you’ve probably seen since childhood.

On-site, there’s a large swimming pool, a pétanque court, hiking trails through the cedar forest, and a shop and café serving organic wines, craft beers, and local products. The on-site restaurant opens on weekend evenings in spring and autumn and Thursday through Sunday in July and August.

The walled citadel, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is the second-most-visited cultural site in France, after Mont Saint-Michel, and for good reason. The medieval fortress has been continuously occupied since the 5th century BC, and walking through the Porte Narbonnaise into the old city at dusk is like being on a movie set. Boat trips on the Canal du Midi, lake swimming, wine tasting in the Minervois, and caving in the Grotte de Limousis are all close by.

The site is open from mid-April to October. Carcassonne Airport is 25 minutes away, and Toulouse Airport is an hour’s drive. It’s French living at its best.

England: The PIG at Harlyn Bay, Cornwall

I have a soft spot for Cornwall as it’s where I got married, and it is such a stunning place. There is no shortage of places to stay here, but very few of them put you in a handcrafted wooden wagon inside a walled kitchen garden with a roll-top bath and a log burner, ten minutes from the sea.

The PIG at Harlyn Bay is a 15th-century manor house near Padstow, and its four Garden Wagons sit within kitchen garden walls built from Cornish slate in 1831. Each wagon was built by the artisan craftspeople at Plankbridge and has its own distinct personality, but all include a freestanding roll-top bath, a log burner, a large, comfortable bed, a sofa, and an outdoor shower hidden behind bamboo and shrubs.

Light and airy in summer, cozy and warm in winter, they work brilliantly in any season.

The food here is a serious reason to visit in itself. The PIG operates on a 25-mile menu principle, meaning almost everything on your plate comes from the kitchen garden or from local producers within 25 miles. 

The Lobster Shed is a seasonal outdoor dining spot serving wood-oven lobster and chargrilled meats, and the Potting Shed offers spa treatments using Voya and Bamford organic products.

Harlyn Bay Beach is half a mile away on foot. Padstow, one of Cornwall’s most popular small towns, is a ten-minute drive.

This is England at its absolute best, and the kind of place that makes you wonder why you ever bothered with a hotel room.

Scotland: The Treehouses at Lanrick, Perthshire

The Treehouses at Lanrick are an hour from both Glasgow and Edinburgh, on the banks of the River Teith and on the edge of the Trossachs National Park.

They’re self-catering, fully equipped, and designed by Mallett with five completely individual interiors. Each one has a log-burning stove, a super king-size bed, a fully equipped kitchen, a tree-top terrace, and an outdoor bath. They sit in private woodland that runs along the river, and the whole thing feels very much like having your own secret hideaway in the Scottish countryside.

From the treehouses, you can fish for salmon and trout on the River Teith, walk or cycle through the woodland, or pack a picnic and disappear into the hills for the day.

Doune Castle, where Monty Python and the Holy Grail was filmed in 1975, is four miles away. Stirling Castle, one of Scotland’s most significant historic fortresses, is within ten miles. Deanston Distillery, if whisky is your thing, is equally close. And Blair Drummond Safari Park is nearby if you have children in tow.

The Trossachs National Park, four miles in the other direction, offers mountain climbing, mountain biking, canoeing, wild swimming, and boat trips on Loch Lomond.

Italy: Paradù EcoResort, Tuscany

Paradù EcoResort on the Etruscan Coast has a private beach in a pine forest. The lodge tents here are serious about comfort. At 48 square meters each, they sleep up to six adults plus an infant across two bedrooms, a large living room, and a fully equipped kitchen with a Moka pot, wine glasses, and every utensil you might need. The private bathroom has a proper shower, and the large terrace is set up for outdoor dining.

Air conditioning, LCD TV, a room safe, and a futon bed couch in the living room are all included. This is camping in the loosest possible sense of the word.

The resort sits directly on a sandy beach in the heart of the Tuscan Maremma, five kilometers from Castiglione della Pescaia, whose waters have repeatedly won clean-water awards. The surrounding Maremma Regional Park is brilliant for mountain biking, horseback riding, and cycling. Scuba diving is available along the coast.

The Etruscan Coast is less visited than Chianti and the classic Tuscany tourist trail, which means more space, quieter roads, and a more authentic version of this region. 

Germany: Naturpark Camping Prinzenholz, Schleswig-Holstein

Naturpark Camping Prinzenholz sits directly on the shores of Kellersee lake in the heart of a region locals call Holstein Switzerland, a landscape of rolling hills, forest, and connected lakes that feels a world away from the cities. The site has been rated 4.8 out of 5 by guests, runs on solar-heated water and photovoltaic panels, and has its own 25-meter private sandy beach.

The glamping tents here are round fairytale structures with their own terrace, a double bed, electric heating, a fridge, and full kitchen equipment with linen included. The view over the lake from the deck is one of those views that makes you put your phone down.

There’s also a sauna on-site, a regional shop and café, a herb garden, and a weekly Saturday market with live jazz. SUP courses run from the beach, and the team organizes guided cycling and hiking tours through the surrounding national park.

The town of Eutin, home to a baroque water castle that was once a residence of the Prince-Bishops of Lübeck, is the nearest town. A 60-kilometer water trail connects through a network of lakes all the way to the Kiel Fjords. Sailing, surfing, kayaking, and canoeing are all available on the lake directly in front of your tent.

Belgium: Glamping La Chapelle, Ardennes

Glamping La Chapelle is in the Belgian countryside, and the luxury tents here are set against the backdrop of a 13th-century castle. Each tent has 360-degree mesh walls for ventilation and bug protection and opens onto a private terrace platform. 

The grounds include an outdoor pool, a barrel sauna, a hot tub, tennis courts, and manicured gardens. The castle restaurant serves gastronomic food in a historic setting, and the bar has a lovely atmosphere.

The city of Liège is 20 kilometers away for a day of galleries, markets, and the extraordinary Gothic architecture of the Saint-Lambert Cathedral quarter. The Dolmen of Wéris, a prehistoric megalithic monument dating to around 2,500 BC, is 31 kilometers away and well worth a detour. For outdoor activities, the Outsider Ardennes adventure center is 13 kilometers from the site.

Austria: Chalets and Glamping Nassfeld by ALPS RESORTS, Carinthia

Carinthia is Austria’s southernmost region, and Chalets and Glamping Nassfeld sits at 700 meters above sea level between the Gailtal and Carnic Alps, close to the Italian border at the Plöcken Pass.

The nearby Lesachtal valley has been called the most pristine valley in Europe, and standing in it, you’ll believe it.

Nassefeld by ALPS RESORTS includes luxury safari tents, treehouses, and glamping chalets. The safari tents come with a high-quality kitchen and bathroom, extremely comfortable beds, air conditioning, a TV, a Nespresso machine, a kettle, and induction hobs. The treehouses are 22.5 square meters, fully equipped, and sleep up to three people with mountain views from every window.

BBQ stations are set across the estate, and there are yoga decks and natural playgrounds with water elements for families. Daily admission to the Aquarena water world is included in your stay, and a family ski area is directly adjacent.

Switzerland: Whitepod Eco-Luxury Hotel, Valais

In the Canton of Valais, at 1,400 meters above sea level, there is a small village of geodesic pod structures sitting on a mountain slope above Monthey with views stretching across the Rhone Valley to the peaks of Villars and, on a clear day, all the way to Lake Geneva.

Whitepod has been running since 2004 and was one of the first glamping concepts in Switzerland. Eighteen spherical pods are anchored to wooden platforms on the hillside, each one a self-supporting geometric structure built from a network of triangles using a minimum of materials. They sit lightly on the landscape, and that’s the point. The wooden platform stilts mean the slope beneath stays entirely undisturbed.

Inside, each pod has a king-size bed, a fully fitted private bathroom, a pellet stove, a Nespresso machine, a minibar, WiFi, and a picture window facing the valley. A furnished terrace sits at the entrance. The Pod Suites go further, with private saunas, hammocks in the trees, a stocked bar, and in-pod massage on request. The Swiss Suite has a king-size stable bed and its own sauna. The Forest Suite has a hammock strung through indoor birch trees. Each one is completely different.

The central Pod House serves a buffet breakfast of fresh pastries, local cold cuts, cheeses, and seasonal hot options, and breakfast can also be delivered to your terrace. The Brasserie d’Alpage les Cerniers serves gourmet Alpine cooking with local seasonal produce, from cream of porcini mushroom soup to venison entrecôte.

In winter, the hotel operates its own private ski slopes with two lifts and seven kilometers of red and blue runs, plus 25 kilometers of snowshoe trails, dog sledding, and winter scooters. In summer, the same trails open for hiking and mountain biking, with paragliding and horseback riding also on offer.

Geneva Airport is 90 minutes away. Prices start at around 390 euros per night for two people and rise to around 1,000 euros for the suites.

Holland: Buitenplaats Beekhuizen, Veluwezoom

Buitenplaats Beekhuizen opened in 2016 as a glamping-only holiday park on the edge of Veluwezoom National Park and the Posbank nature reserve.

The most luxurious option here is the Forest Cabins, designed with large windows so the surrounding woodland essentially flows into the room. Each cabin has two bedrooms with box-spring beds, a rain-shower bathroom, a fully equipped kitchen, and a partly covered deck with lounge chairs and a double swing chair. They use sustainable heating systems and are available year-round.

Wellness Lodge Tents feature a private hot tub, a rain shower, two bedrooms, and a full kitchen. Standard Lodge Tents have a veranda and lounge set. The Pods are smaller, more intimate options with modern conveniences, including one with a private outdoor shower.

Wild boar roam the grounds at dusk. Deer appear regularly on the woodland walks. The on-site restaurant WOODZ operates with a pop-up food festival concept on a large heated terrace. Fresh bread rolls are delivered each morning if you want them.

The surrounding area is remarkably rich. Arnhem is the nearest city. The Kröller-Müller Museum, one of the finest art museums in the Netherlands and home to the world’s second-largest Van Gogh collection, is within easy reach. Burgers’ Zoo, the Dutch Open Air Museum, the Airborne Museum at Oosterbeek, and the historic towns of Doesburg and Zutphen are all day-trip options.

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