679 Best Hotels in France

Dating from the 17th century and the only hotel set within Vence's old walls, this former stagecoach inn has been owned by the same family since 1919, and they still go out of their way to make your stay memorable. Upstairs, guest rooms are airy and bright, with drapes, bedspreads, and bureau runners in matching hues de Provence. Some rooms have great views, as does the breakfast terrace. Downstairs, the restaurant—all copper pots and wood trim—has a rustic, frozen-in-amber charm and specializes in roasted meat (the chicken prepared on a spit of vines instead of wood is magnifique); it's very popular, so book well in advance.

Consisting of three 17th-century buildings that were restored and combined, this hotel is a stone’s throw from the port and the picturesque old town and within walking distance of most sights. Some rooms have lovely views of the bay (best seen from fourth-floor balconies), old town, and Mont Faron; all rooms are spare and functional, with a maritime design theme featuring uplifting shades of blue and white and spotless white-tiled bathrooms. The in-hotel restaurant, L’Équerre, is a popular neighborhood choice for a classic bistronomic meal or a cocktail. The tiny rooftop pool offers stellar views of the bay and cool respite on a hot summer’s day.

There's something just a bit playful in the air at this sumptuously beautiful boutique hotel, thanks to its history as an 18th-century pavillon d'amour (inn for trysts) and as the place where Oscar Wilde died in 1900 (Room 16, to be exact). Today, the intimate bar allows you to mingle with the Parisian beau monde, and an exposed stone grotto holds a countercurrent pool and steam room. 

A terrace out front welcomes you to this rambling hotel, which features light, bright (if somewhat staid) rooms—most with private balconies. It has a top-notch restaurant that serves high-end cuisine and Burgundian classics.

Across the lake from the town center, Annecy's leading hotel has spacious, high-ceilinged guest rooms in subdued contemporary colors behind its Belle Époque exterior. The hotel has been undergoing extensive renovations, which will eventually include the lobby, casino, and restaurant, and see the addition of a new spa. Ask for a room facing the public gardens on the lake; if you have one of those rooms, waking up to breakfast on the terrace is a great way to start the day. Fine cuisine is served in La Voile and the stylish new La Brasserie, with a lovely outdoor terrace facing the lake. The luxurious new Hip Bar offers an extensive list of cocktails and Champagnes, and live lounge music evenings Tuesday to Saturday.

At the base of the Cirque du Cambre d’Aze (an extra-impressive glacially formed peak) is an immaculately restored stone farmhouse turned eco-lodge that combines comfort and design. This affordable abode welcomes hikers, skiers, adventurers, and travelers seeking fresh mountain air. In the evenings, guests meet around the inn’s oak tables for meals entirely sourced by local farmers and organic producers. The inn offers several comfort levels from standard double-occupancy rooms (only available during summer) to custom-designed yurts (breakfast not included) with cloth walls and wood floors. 

Once an idyllic youth hostel, this old stone farmhouse with blue-shuttered windows is now an unpretentious but enchanting country inn set in a pine-shaded garden court. Its pretty rooms are done in stone, pine, and stucco, with bright, artisanal-tiled baths. Downstairs is a low-slung dining room with plank tables by a stone fireplace. Breakfast can be enjoyed on a sweet terrace, and the €28 dinner menu includes typical regional specialties such as garlic-roasted lamb, duck breast with honey and rosemary, and lavender-scented crème brûlée.

Michelin-starred chef Mathias Dandine’s transformation of a 200-year-old, tree-shaded auberge at the heart of a quaint village near Aix into a sleek boutique hotel bucks the trend toward Provençal charm in favor of a resolutely contemporary style, featuring creamy walls and terrazzo floors, giant backlit mirrors, minimalist-chic wooden furniture, dreamily colored velvet upholstery, and sizeable marble bathrooms with huge walk-in showers (some with tubs, too). Some the spacious rooms have outdoor terraces, and and a large suite has views of a medieval chapel on the opposite hillside. Bask in the sun around the swimming pool or enjoy a massage in the treatment room before indulging in a gastronomic lunch or dinner in Dandine’s Michelin-starred dining room, where dishes feature all-local ingredients, and the wines are sublime. A quick 10-minute drive from downtown Aix-en-Provence, this a good choice for a village getaway with easy access to cosmopolitan Aix.

Whether on or off the Lavender Route, arriving by car or by bicycle—as many do—a warm welcome awaits you at this reasonably priced bed-and-breakfast set in a series of 18th-century stone mas (farmhouses) in the midst of lavender fields near Sault. Spotless rooms evoke a Provençal ambience with contemporary touches, and the spacious pool is appreciated on hot summer days. Four independent stone houses, including a 1,500 square-foot farm house with its own private pool, and a picturesque stone cottage adjoining the hotel offer a touch more privacy. If you’re booking for lavender season (mid-June to mid-July) reserve at least six months ahead.

This ocher mansion, once the home of an industrialist who hosted the Kennedys and the Rolling Stones, is now the Relais & Chateaux domain of celebrated chef Jacques Chibois, who welcomes you with old stone walls, shaded walkways, an enormous pool, and guest rooms that glossily mix Louis XVI, Provençal, and high-tech delights. The restaurant here is excellent but expensive (mains start at €65). Lunch is a relative bargain at €76 (not available Sunday). Reserve well in advance.

You can unwind in total comfort at this retreat near the village and amid the Luberon Natural Park, where each contemporary villa is done in earth tones and has a private terrace. Take advantage of the indoor or outdoor pools and spa (with a steam room and whirlpool tub), which are set among gnarled olive trees and pretty gardens. Overlooking the hotel's sun-drenched grounds, the Casa Gia restaurant (open for lunch and dinner) serves Mediterranean specialties and seafood.

A mere 2 km (1 mile) from Pont du Gard, a 17th-century coach house on 30 acres of greenery has been lovingly converted into this boutique hotel and gourmet restaurant. The interior is modern, which contrasts nicely with the old stone walls of the exterior. Rooms have all the modern conveniences, including Wi-Fi access, satellite TV, and room service. The restaurant is as contemporary as the rest of the place, and the set menus are reasonably priced. There's an outdoor swimming pool, a river to dip into (just a short walk away), and electric bike rentals for exploring the nearby paths.

Featuring interior details like heavy old beams, a stone fireplace, and terra-cotta tiles, this graceful, shuttered, family-owned mas, set on manicured grounds dotted with tall pines, feels centuries old, but it was built to look that way some 30 years ago. The refined, modern guest rooms have air-conditioning, large bathrooms, and such charming touches as throws on the settees and comfy cushions on the bed. You can have a drink on the terrace and cool off in the olive tree–shaded pool, beside which dinner (the prix-fixe Provençal-Mediterranean menu is €70) is served.

It's worth driving south to Vinay to stay at this luxurious manor, which has modern accommodations, wonderful gardens, an indoor pool, and a well-equipped spa; it also makes an ideal base to discover the region's Champagne houses. The guest rooms are individually decorated in soft and soothing tones of forest green, beige and white; ask for one overlooking the extensive gardens. There is a bright, light-filled dining room serving bistronomic dishes at lunchtime (closed Saturday and Sunday) and an upscale gourmet menu for dinner (closed Monday and Tuesday). Chef Nawal Rezagui takes classic French dishes and adds a Moroccan twist.

With a gorgeous Art Deco–style façade, this hotel (part of Marriott's Autograph Collection) fuses historical architecture and modern design to create a chic city center hotel. Once the city's firehouse, the building now has contemporary rooms decked out in Champagne-inspired splashes of gold, beige, and deep forest green; the striped patterns on the carpets represent an aerial view of the vineyards, and all rooms come with high-end comforts. Top-notch \"Skyline\" rooms have balconies and views of the cathedral; rooms at the rear of the building overlook the Museum of Fine Arts while those facing the inner courtyard look onto the imposing \"drying tower\" (where firemen dried out their hoses). Both on-site eateries, the gastronomic Grande Georgette and the Little Georgette bistro, have tables on the sidewalk facing the cathedral.

Partly built into a rock face on a bank of the Aven, this efficiently run hotel is a perfect blend of antique and modern—offering simple, clean rooms with 18th- and 19th-century-style touches. Choose from lodgings in two locations: the enchanting, 16th-century thatched \"chaumière\" house (three rooms) or the modern annex (10 rooms). Visitors can now have lunch in the hotel \"salon de thé,\" which serves afternoon tea, and in the bar that serves tapas and other light fare.

Occupying an elegant 18th-century mansion that's topped by an impressive mansard roof and surrounded by cheerful gardens, this is a true oasis of peace—although located only a few miles inland from World War II sites like Omaha Beach, it feels light-years away. The super-stylish guest rooms are a fetching mix of Louis XVI chairs, gilded ormolu objects, modern photographs, and very chic fabrics. Overlooking the grand pool is La Chenevière's showpiece: a stunning, glassed-in modern conservatory with wicker furniture and abstract art. The opulent restaurant, with wood paneling and lordly fireplaces, serves cuisine appropriate to its surroundings.

Originally part of the Vassy cement works, this elegant 19th-century manor offers comfortable guest rooms decorated with family heirlooms; even the bathrooms are inviting (the Hippolyte Room, for instance, has an open-plan bathroom with a freestanding tub near the fireplace). Generous breakfasts—including homemade jams, light-as-air pancakes, and fresh croissants—are served in the pretty conservatory at intimate individual tables; convivial evening meals (reservations essential) are served around a communal table.

In a quiet location just a few steps from the Place du Marché, this smart hotel balances old-fashioned coziness with up-to-date guest rooms that are both comfortable and stylish; some overlook the garden and ramparts. The hotel's gastronomic restaurant is one of the best in town. Other on-site amenities include a glitzy pool and spa.

Sitting pretty in the middle of manicured rows of Meursault vines, the Château de Citeaux provides a stately setting for this hotel and spa. The grand Napoléon III ballroom, with its monumental fireplace, creaky parquet floors, and ostentatiously decorated walls and ceiling, is the backdrop for breakfast. Or you can pull up a chair in the château's ancient kitchens, now a bistro, for lunchtime options. In the opposite wing, modern guest rooms with minimalist decor are easier on the eye; those on the first floor have private terraces with stunning views over the vineyards or village. After touring some world-class wine producers, take a plunge in the property’s indoor pool, or revive your body and soul in the hammam. For full-on pampering, book a Fruititherapy treatment at the spa, where options include a body scrub with black currant and grape seeds, a fruit-pulp wrap, and a seasonal-fruit face mask.

Spread out over whitewashed terraces at the edge of the Golfe d'Ajaccio, this hotel is known for its sea views, and also for its restaurant, which ranks as one of the island's better establishments for its stylish interpretations of traditional Corsican dishes. Rooms are less exciting, although they are comfortable and have been jazzed up with some modern furnishings. There are three apartments available as well.

Fifty meters from the waterfront and the Negresco, this immaculate, modern hotel on a bustling shopping street offers a friendly welcome from its house-proud owners—for a reasonable price. Rooms are small but comfortable, with pops of color, freshly tiled bathrooms, and a coffee corner with a kettle and mug. Breakfast is served in a pretty little courtyard.

Set on a riverside canal quay, this imposing 17th-century stone building once home to the Gendarmerie Nationale now houses a modern luxury hotel with smart guest rooms decked out in soothing grays, greens, and beiges. In contrast, the bathrooms have bold black marble walls and floors. Opt for a room overlooking the courtyard as those at the back face the walls of adjacent buildings. The cocktail bar is a great place to chill out after a day's sightseeing, perhaps with a glass of the local bubbly.

Northwest of the city center, the street-front door of this inconspicuous boutique hotel opens onto a quiet courtyard that once served as a relay stable for carriages and today provides a welcome respite for modern travelers seeking urban tranquility. Inside the 18th-century building, antique tiles and well-worn parquet floors contrast nicely with the ultramodern style of the lounge and dining room; in the guest rooms, however, the minimalist modern theme feels a tad too minimal.

Outside the hustle of town and yet just five minutes from the Arènes, this luxurious Art Deco hôtel particulier has lots of charm—especially in its large, airy, individually decorated guest rooms. The scent of jasmine leads you out to the garden, where colorful bougainvilleas contrast with the deep blue of the pool. Drift back to the lovely sitting room in the early evening for a cup of tea or a glass of wine (a fridge is at your disposal), and then curl up with one of the many good books thoughtfully provided by your hosts.

An atmospheric indoor pool, relaxing sauna, and around-the-clock concierge are some of the reasons this jewel-box hotel is such a popular choice—add 18th-century charm, reasonable rates, good service, and beautifully decorated rooms, and it's no wonder why this hotel, named after the founders of the Comic Opera, pleases those who demand discreet elegance and creature comforts. Look for complimentary tea and coffee, refined fabrics, and furnishings that are a modern interpretation of traditional Parisian style.

Resident chineur (that’s fancy for "antiques hunter") Michel Montagnier decorated his 18th-century home in the heart of Arles with furniture and paintings from the 19th and 20th centuries, creating a setting so flawless that it feels like a stage and enables you to relax in an arcaded courtyard, lounge in a library, or retire to a spacious and luxurious guest room. No detail has been overlooked—Quagliotti linens, Annick Goutal beauty products, and your choice of cashmere bedspreads by Oyuna. On a budget? One room with two twin beds goes for a lower rate. Breakfast is included, as are Wi-Fi access and access to two parking places (if available).

A (relatively) low-cost, low-calorie alternative to famed Les Prés d'Eugénie, Michel and Christine Guérard's \"Pink House\" spa beckons with a renovated, super-stylish, 18th-century farmhouse adorned with old paintings, rustic antiques, and Pays Basque handicrafts. It's the kind of retreat that would have delighted Louis XIV's sober Madame de Maintenon, assuming she had wanted to lose weight. This is, indeed, a serious spa, complete with slimming cures and the most stylish relaxation room in France. There's no room service—everyone eats in the main dining room, a two-story, wood-beam-ceiling delight. The kitchen's touch remains an inventive benediction to local produce.

Within walking distance of the cathedral, this centuries-old town house blends modern comforts with timbered ceilings, creaky stairs, and either wood or terra-cotta tile floors. The five comfortable rooms (one of which can sleep up to four people and one three people) come with a quirky sense of style and are filled with flea-market finds.