10 Best Hotels in The French Riviera, France

In a quiet residential area—a 15-minute walk uphill from La Croisette and beaches—this neo–Art Deco mansion has tastefully decorated white and blue rooms that are both minimal and tidy. You can have breakfast on the flowered, shady terrace or in the family-style salon. The owners speak English and take friendly service to a new level.

The most desirable rooms at this simple yet welcoming 1950s hotel have balconies with sweeping panoramas—so who needs luxury fittings and fabrics when you can have a view of the old harbor for a reasonable rate? Even the kid's breakfast (€5) is half the regular price. The hotel is about a 10-minute walk from the bustle of the town center, an advantage in peak season.

This property exudes Provençal style, with its tiny square with a trickling fountain, venerable plane trees, green valley views, and two massive imposing rocks (and that’s just on the outside). The fireplace in the salon and the bright, mixed fabrics in the bedrooms round it all off. Enjoy breakfast (€15) or dinner in the romantic stone-and-beam restaurant or on the terrace under the trees by the fountain.

Subtropical gardens and 19th-century architecture are two of Menton's main attractions, and this hotel a few minutes' walk from the train station gives you a taste of both and at prices rarely seen along the Riviera. The owners are green-friendly and use upcycled furniture, organic paint and cleaning supplies, and—a first—recycling in the hotel. Lemon trees and centuries-old palm trees shade the courtyard where a breakfast (€10) made with local and organic products is served.

Only a 10-minute walk from the village, this motel-style property offers excellent value and has tidy, spacious rooms, some of which open onto a terrace and garden. The service is very friendly, and to make your stay ever better, there's a heated pool with a panoramic view. Our verdict: absolutely charming and affordable.

This attractive 19th-century villa has well-priced, comfortable rooms and a lovely garden, where grand palms and pines shade a walk leading to the pretty little swimming pool. Four studios, equipped with kitchens and sleeping two to four guests, are behind the hotel and available for weekly rentals.

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.

In a restored 18th-century house on La Palud's only street, this lovely little complex with a B&B, restaurant, and a climbing-gear store is run by charming owners. The rustic, simple rooms, each named after a classic hiking route, include one with a large double bed and another with a double and three singles. A small house is available for larger families or groups. Don't expect a TV, but rooms are furnished with a lot of good books. A healthy breakfast (€8.50) includes homemade jam.

It's hard to believe that this little gem of a hotel, with its own courtyard garden, is smack in the middle of Nice, next to the pedestrian shopping streets and a five-minute walk from the old town. Rooms, with original ceiling molding and chandeliers, are done up in romantic style, and all of them look onto the garden scented with Mediterranean flowers and citrus fruits. This is a find, and owner Marion Hoffman goes out of her way to turn your vacation into a lasting memory.

One block from the beach and two from Place Masséna, this tiny budget hotel has small but bright rooms worthy of a more upscale establishment. The fifth-floor rooms have terraces, which are worth the extra cost; some of them look onto the lively pedestrian street below. Don't be put off by the unappealing ground-floor entrance and apparently rickety elevator, which is common in French buildings.