89 Best Hotels in France

As poised and polished as the day it opened in 1928, this superb hotel's original plaster detailing and 17th-century tapestries have been restored, the bas-reliefs regilded, and the marble-floor mosaics rebuilt tile by tile, adding up to an opulence rarely equaled in the city. Rooms have sumptuous fabrics and Louis XVI trimmings, consistent with the franchise's ultraluxe standards. Stocked with Hermès toiletries, bathrooms are marble-trimmed and have TVs hidden behind the mirrors. Book a table at award-winning Le Cinq, one of Paris's gastronomic jewels. The low-lit spa and fitness center pampers you with 11 treatment rooms, walls covered in toile de Jouy fabrics, and an indoor swimming pool. Don't be surprised if you rub elbows with show-business elite; the hotel remains a magnet for those in search of reliable creature comforts and who don't blink an eye at the price tag.

Since 1835, Paris's first palace hotel has welcomed royalty and celebrities from the Duchess of Windsor to Salvador Dalí and continues to enchant with service, style, and views. Le Meurice also appeals to art-history aficionados: contemporary sculpture, antiques, and attractive murals adorn rooms, corridors, and sumptuous dining areas. Classic rooms have a gilded Napoleonic Empire style, with antique furnishings covered in elegant French and Italian brocades. The modern spa includes Swiss Valmont facials, Thermes Marins de St-Malo body treatments, and "By Terry" makeovers. Expect children to be pampered with their own Meurice teddy bear called Pistache, tot-size slippers and bathrobe, and sweet treats. There's even a premium pet service that provides a VIP welcome for furry family members. The three-star Michelin restaurant run by chef Amaury Bouhours on behalf of Alain Ducasse serves gastronomic menus in one of the most beautiful grand siècle settings in the city, with a design by Philippe Starck and pastries from superstar pâtissier Cédric Grolet.

Distinguished by the scarlet flowers cascading over its elegant facade, this glamorous landmark hotel sits on one of the most expensive avenues in Paris. The suites' interior design expertly places contemporary pieces in a luxe traditional setting, culminating in the two quintessentially Parisian Eiffel suites, where the looming tower is framed by floor-to-ceiling windows. Sumptuous rooms enchant with designer furnishings and luxurious conveniences, like state-of-the-art controls, compact sound systems, and all the latest technology discreetly tucked away. On the handsomely renovated seventh floor, Room 750's spacious terrace offers panoramas of tout Paris, including the Eiffel Tower and Sacré-Coeur. Downstairs, the glittering gastronomic dining room is helmed by chef Jean Imbert, who projects star wattage both in and out of the kitchen. For a less extravagant experience, join the locals at Le Relais Plaza (also helmed by Imbert), a beloved neighborhood outpost known for its gourmet brasserie fare served under elegant Art Deco murals that are listed historic monuments. Another star in the Plaza firmament: the gorgeously revamped Dior Spa, specializing in luxe custom-designed treatments, introduces the Light Suite, an exclusive therapy that relieves stress, resets your circadian rhythms, and stimulates skin regeneration.

In 1882 this ivy-covered inn won Henry James's praise, and, thanks to four generations of the Jeudi family, the author might be even more impressed today—this remains one of the Loire's most wonderful auberges, with guest rooms enchantingly accented in toile de Jouy fabrics and Redouté pink-and-blue pastels. Rooms in the main house are comfortably sized; those in the former stables are larger (some overlook a spacious kitchen garden) and more recently renovated, but the best rooms are the quaint quarters in the separate patio cottage near the terrace. Guests are encouraged to relax among the roses in several charming garden areas or lounge around the outdoor heated pool. After an apéro on the garden terrace, settle in at a table in the "old" dining room for one of the best gastronomic meals around, where the wood-beam ceiling, glazed terra-cotta walls, and Louis XVI chairs are almost as elegant as chef Antoine Jeudi's entrées. 

It may be a tad off the beaten path, but it's safe to say this is the only hotel in Paris where the eggs for your breakfast omelet come fresh from the rooftop chicken coop—just one of the things that sets this superchic Philippe Starck–designed hotel apart. Besides unusually spacious art-centric rooms (some with balconies), guests can enjoy the heated rooftop terrace with Eiffel Tower views and a sizable gym, a tiny gem of a spa, and two (small) pools. On the ground floor, the sleek cocktail bar, café (with delicious pastries by Best Craftsman of France Yann Brys), and restaurant benefit from rooftop garden seating.

At the heights of Bonnieux, amid beautifully landscaped gardens set between the cedar forest and the village, Capelongue's converted stone farmhouses and cottages harmonize with the landscape and capitalize on sweeping Luberon views. Interiors mix contemporary elegance with smart details, like a cleverly built-in desks and minibars and relaxing lighting that recreates the warm Provençal sunlight. Lodging choices include rooms in the main farmhouse; stone cottages with garden terraces; duplex suites with balconies (some with kitchens); and the Pigeonnier, a gorgeously appointed private lodging with panoramic views. Relax by one of the two outdoor pools, and enjoy meals in the gastronomic dining room or the bistro, both with jaw-dropping views. The spa, which has a Roman bath and a hammam, offers cryotherapy as well as beauty treatments featuring products from the French luxury brand Biologique Recherche.

St-Germain's only Relais & Château hotel is a quintessential Île-de-France country retreat: surrounded by forest, it's rambling and solid, with shuttered windows and 18th-century-style furnishings. The fine restaurant (closed Monday) features chef Grégory Balland's deft hand in such dishes as sole with mushroom risotto or hare stuffed with olives and foie gras. Dining on the garden veranda can prove a most seductive experience.

You’ll enjoy the warmest welcome at this cozy B&B set in an 18th-century mansion in the heart of the city and an easy walk to restaurants and all the major sights. Beamed ceilings, old-fashioned armoires, Oriental carpets, sumptuous wallpapers, and rich colors create an old-world atmosphere equipped with all the contemporary amenities. Rooms offer beautiful views over the old city and the countryside, with large, well-equipped bathrooms. A fresh and copious breakfast is included in the very reasonable price.

Small enough to feel like a home, stuffed with lovely 18th-century decor, and replete with a beautiful river terrace, this overlooked treasure provides an unforgettable experience in the Loire. Other château-hotels may have pomp, but this has something more precious: authenticité. Once the property of the Marquis de Vaudreuil, first French governor of Louisiana, it was purchased by the current owner’s family in 1779. At the end of a long allée, this "pavillon Mansart" embraces you in a semicircular layout (the collier, or necklace). Ten family descendants study you from gilded Charles-Dix frames in the comely main salon, a confectionery of white rococo moldings, glittering chandeliers, and furniture that Madame Bovary would have loved. The breakfast room is covered with quaint 16th-century Italian frescoes, and each guest room is a bouquet of antiques and comfy furniture.

Like a Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud, this hotel keeps purring along, decade after decade, offering many delights: a romantic twin-tower château, a Loire River vista, tranquil guest rooms (four of the less expensive are in a charming "Pavillon Renaissance"), and an excellent restaurant. Fifty years ago Loire Valley guidebooks praised this domain, and things have only gotten better. Chef Arnaud Philippon's Michelin-starred restaurant is set in two salons, one in brilliant golds, the other lighted with chandeliers and stained-glass windows, lined with tapestries, and spectacularly centered on a neo-Gothic, sculpted-wood fireplace. Be sure to reserve in advance.

Presiding over the picturesque vineyards encircling St-Émilion, this fairy-tale Belle Époque château has gorgeous guest rooms that are at once classic and contemporary (for the full storybook experience, ask for one in the main 19th-century building rather than the modern luxury annex). Biking distance from the medieval town center, the property also includes surrounding parkland, gardens, and an excellent spa, making it the ideal place to enjoy the good life while investigating St-Émilion's best vintages. The château's restaurant is equally magical with its stained-glass-domed dining rooms.

You'll find peace at these three charming cottages (and an elegant manor house split into two apartments) set in several 17th-century outbuildings of the Château de Courances in the château's splendid gardens. Each of these beautifully restored and decorated family-style cottages—a chic mix of antique and contemporary—sleeps between two and eight people and can be rented individually (for a two-night minimum) or together. La Régie, an impeccably refurbished manor house, is split into two light-drenched 1,150-square-foot apartments, complete with period antiques, restored original woodwork and floors, comfy living areas, spacious modern baths, a fully equipped kitchen, fireplace, and an outdoor terrace. Only 8 miles from Barbizon and 12 miles from Fontainebleau, this is an excellent base for visiting the area.

This hotel—its facade a riot of pastel-green timbering, checkerboard walls, and Anglo-Norman balconies—has been a town landmark since it opened in 1912, and crowds still pack the place. A regional menu is served in La Belle Époque, the restaurant set in a grand hall which, on a bright night and after a couple of bottles of Dom Pérignon, glitters like the salons of Versailles.

One of Normandy's most magnificent hôtels particuliers (family mansions) is also Rouen's finest hotel. Long a landmark on the Place de la Pucelle, this storybook vision of a Gothic urban palace—with soaring stone pinnacles and a tower made for a sleeping beauty—was initially built in 1506 for William the Red, leader of the powerful Le Roux family. From the Cour d'Honneur (where guests can enjoy their sunset drinks), enter the front door to be fast-forwarded to the 21st century: the lobby is all slick monolithic stone with a vast glass atrium and a regiment of black leather sofas. Upstairs, the guest rooms range from minimalistic Modern and Tradition (with lovely touches of period woodwork) to the most expensive Prestige (in which the brickwork bathrooms are beauts). The property also has a gourmet restaurant, a café, and a terrace bar, as well as an expansive spa with an indoor swimming pool, sauna, and steam bath.

The flat, glass-and-concrete facade of this postwar structure grants all the port-facing rooms here broad views of the Vieux Port all the way to Notre-Dame-de-la-Garde. The modernist rooms are nicely done up in Mondrian-esque primary colors with 1950s-style artwork and handsome black bathrooms. For an extra €30 or so you can get a room with a terrace, most of which are spacious enough to accommodate a bistro table. Well-priced suites on the top floor may be worth a small splurge, as they have larger terraces and an extra room for kids. 

Cézanne painted Sainte-Victoire from what is now the large flower-filled terrace of this enchanting abode, and you can easily imagine former guests Princess Caroline, Iggy Pop, and Clint Eastwood swanning their way through the magnificent, pool-adorned, topiary-accented garden or relaxing in the spacious, light-filled guest rooms. For sheer Provençal luxe (think plush baby-soft rugs and handsome contemporary-classic decor), this place can't be beat. The restaurant's terrace spills out onto a sculpted green, but the inside dining salon is equally pleasant on a rainy day, as is the spa, thanks to its dazzlingly elegant chandeliers and large picture windows.

A few miles west of Obernai, this white-shuttered, flower-bedecked, 18th-century house treats diners to fine meals and accommodates overnight guests in impeccable rooms with sleek contemporary furnishings (opt for one in the main building, not the annex). Hotel amenities include a sauna and heated outdoor pool. The restaurant (reservations essential; closed to nonguests Wednesday) is one of the region's top attractions. Here you can savor Patrick Fritz's sophisticated twists on regional specialties, including a delicate choucroute with fresh and smoked fish in beurre blanc. Don't miss the fruity red wine, an Ottrott exclusive.

Located just a seven-minute walk from Petite Venise, this glossy hotel has sleek, modern guest rooms decked out with wood, natural stone, marble, copper, and leather, creating a harmonious design scheme. All the rooms are equipped with balconies, and those at the rear look straight across the leafy Champs de Mars gardens while those at the front have an urban view. There's a swanky bar and lounge, and a gastronomic restaurant presided over by famed local chef Jean-Yves Schillinger. There's a spa and wellness center in the basement, too.

Tin chandeliers, Nantes silk and calico hangings, antique scrollwork panels, and other traditional luxe touches make lodgings in this trio of vine-clad, pink-and-yellow 15th- and 16th-century houses especially alluring. The guest salon is set in a vaulted cave-wine cellar fitted out with the latest in soigné furniture. From the name (for the city's centuries-old roosting haunts of storks) to the daub-and-wattle facade abuzz with the pattern of timbered logs, a storybook courtyard, and a fairy-tale staircase, this is a truly magical retreat.

Set in a 1930s former France Telecom exchange, the Art Deco–era building's streamlined contours create the ideal setting for spaces that mix modern elegance with high-tech advances, while making the most of some very Parisian views of nearby Les Invalides and the Eiffel Tower a few blocks away.

Set in the tiny, picturesque perched village of St-Saturnin-lès-Apt, 9 km (5½ miles) north of Apt, this peaceful, beautifully restored 18th-century inn opened by two talented chefs encompasses contemporary guest rooms, a laid-back café–wine bar, and a gourmet bistro with fantastic views from picture windows and a terrace. Designed with cocooning in mind, rooms have comfy beds, quality linens and furnishings, spacious bathrooms, and sensitive lighting.

Ever since Michel Guérard's restaurant fired the first shots of the nouvelle revolution in the late 1970s, the excellence of this suave hotel and culinary landmark has been a given (so much so that breakfast here outdoes dinner at most other places); hence a stay at (or at least a visit to) Les Prés d'Eugénie remains an important notch on any gourmand's belt. Thanks to Guérard's signature flair, cuisine minceur—the slimmer's dream—collides with the lusty fare of the Landes region (langoustines garnished with foie gras and mesclun greens, lobster with confetti-ed calf's head). In the lovely Second Empire–style hotel, set in a fine garden, grandeur prevails and rooms are formal. However, rooms in the "annex"—the former 18th-century convent Le Couvent des Herbes—have an understated luxe and look out over the herb garden. To top it all off, the complex includes an excellent spa, dance studio, two pools, and a 9-hole golf course, while "theme" weeks are devoted to cooking, perfumes, wines, or gardening.

To say this sustainable hotel is unique is an understatement—where else in Provence can you stay in a luxury cave with a bathroom set into the rocks or in a round pigeon tower with sweeping village and countryside views? The 200-year-old farmhouse offers large but more conventional rooms and suites—complete with wood-burning stoves—that open onto a private terrace. The 7-acre property has lush flower, fruit, and vegetable gardens (to stock the excellent Jardin Secret restaurant); ancient trees; lavender fields (for the bees); a large pool; a small vineyard; and stunning vistas everywhere you look. The Bistrot restaurant, La TUF microbrewery, and O'Fadoli pastis bar round out the drinking and dining options.

Surrounded by canals in the heart of the quaint La Petite France quarter, this centuries-old former ice factory—replete with noble pediment and mansard roofs—is now a boldly modern luxury hotel, where Philippe Starck–inspired sculptural furnishings contrast sharply with the views of half-timber buildings and the roaring river from nearly every window. The preferred choice of Catherine Deneuve, Jacques Chirac, and Sting (to name a few) welcomes you with a spacious marble vestibule, vivid graffiti art, and Le Pont Tournant: an eye-popping modernistic restaurant done up in white, pinks, and reds (enjoy its summer tables over the torrent).

At the very epicenter of historic Saumur, this little 15th- to 17th-century house is hidden beneath the medieval walls of the church of St-Pierre—look for its entrance on one of the pedestrian passages that circle the nave. After being graciously greeted in the sweet reception area, you’ll be ushered up the Renaissance corkscrew staircase (or modern mini-elevator) to a refined guest room. Designer fabrics, antique pont cabinets (forming a "bridge" over bed headboards), elegant wainscoting, Persian rugs, tuffeau fireplaces, and bathrooms replete with Paloma Picasso designs make this a favored home-away-from-home for Saumur's most savvy visitors. The rooms facing the church, although smaller, are quieter than those overlooking the road leading up to the castle.

Like Itterswiller—the cute wine village it overlooks—this yellow-walled, half-timber, hillside hotel exudes charm, from the wood-beam lobby with its wrought-iron staircase right through to the "country deluxe" lodgings with views across the nearby vineyards. Rooms, while not overly spacious, are well done, with large wood-framed beds, colorfully upholstered furnishings, capacious windows, and all the modern conveniences (including a pool, hamman, and sauna). Across the street, the hotel's winstub-style restaurant features a vintage winepress and serves Alsace wines by the jug; homemade foie gras, pike perch in Riesling sauce, and traditional choucroute top the menu.

Close to the ramparts, this 19th-century hotel has a gorgeous, white-shuttered facade that blends in beautifully with St-Émilion's stonework. Public areas have vineyard views, and guest rooms (some with exposed stone walls, others with bright murals) range from pint-size to generously proportioned; Rooms 2, 3, 7, and 8 overlook the small garden.

Across the street from the basilica, this smart hotel has design-focused guest rooms with a subdued contemporary color palette and ultramodern bathrooms. Opt for a room at the front or the side which have great views of the basilica or one of the rooms at the rear which are quieter and have terraces offering far-reaching views of the lush countryside. Guests can enjoy the hammam, spa, and indoor pool, as well as creative cooking in Cuvée 31 restaurant.

On the same quiet backstreet as the restaurant Le Petit Jardin, this hôtel de charme is actually a series of 16th-century houses rebuilt from ruins, replete with an extraordinary old garden. An elevator and state-of-the-art white-tile baths have been added, but Le Guilhem retains its original casement windows, slanting floors, and views toward the cathedral. Tiny garret-style rooms at the top are great if you're traveling alone; if not, ask for the largest available.

Established in 1880, the Dieppe remains up-to-date thanks to resolute management by five generations of the Guéret family who welcome guests to their fine restaurant and compact accommodations (Room 22 is the largest); all have modern color schemes, refurbished bathrooms, and flat-screen TVs. The restaurant, Victor 1880 (no lunch Saturday, no dinner Sunday), serves seasonal dishes with an emphasis on fish, such as the sole meunière, but is best known for its pressed duckling—made using Michel Guéret's 1932 recipe.