Hotels in France, Europe

From food and fine wine to fashion and iconic landmarks, France has plenty to offer. French culture gave us haute cuisine and pret-a-porter couture, while the landscape of France goes from the peaks of Mont Blanc to the beaches of the Riviera, with the lavender fields of Provence and pink granite of Brittany in between. With spectacular architecture like the Eiffel Tower, Mont St Michel, Notre Dame, the Arc De Triomphe and the Louvre museum its hard to find the time to also take in the art, music and literature by Monet, Debussy, Dumas, Renoir, Cezanne and Degas. There is always time, however, to enjoy the simple French pleasures of a baguette with Brie and a cheeky glass of Bordeaux. You won’t regret booking a hotel in France. Parfait!

Where to Stay in France

Paris — Climbing the Eiffel Tower is not just a way of crossing a global landmark off your bucket list. From here you can see the city’s quartiers laid out below, from Montmartre to Notre Dame, and admire its other iconic sights including the Pompidou Centre, the Champs d’Elysees, the Arc de Triomphe and Versailles. Explore the history of French Revolution and Napoleon Bonaparte, dip into the boutiques of the world’s fashion capital or enjoy a citron pressé in an Art Deco cafe. Find out exactly why Paris hotels are some of the most popular in the world.

Marseille and the French Riviera — For more than two millennia Marseille has presided over the Mediterranean and the traces of the Roman Empire and the Ancién Regime can easily be found here. Along the coast are the Cote d’Azur resorts of Cannes, Nice and St. Tropez, the playgrounds of playboys for decades, while inland the more relaxed Provence landscapes have inspired painters and generations of tourists. Book a hotel on the French Riviera for a chilled out holiday.

Bordeaux to the Loire Valley — Book a hotel in Bordeaux, the ‘very essence of elegance’ according to the Queen – and who are we to disagree? UNESCO has added its weight behind the monarch by protecting more than half of the city of Bordeaux, with its chateaus, graceful bridges, manicured gardens and spotless streets. Along the western edge of France you’ll also find vineyards, valleys and gorgeous coastline.

Lyon and the Alps du Nord — Half of France seems to congregate in the Alps during the ski season but summer is just as grand. From Morzine to Les Portes du Soleil, the mountains are home to views as spectacular as you can imagine and plenty to do – as well as winter sports you can sail through the skies by cable car, kayak down mountain rivers or in some of the many lakes.

How to Make the Most of Your Hotel in France

The Eiffel Tower is a perennial favourite and rightly so – the views are as spectacular at the bottom as at the top. A whirlwind tour of Paris can take days with Versailles, Notre Dame cathedral, the steps of Montmartre and the banks of the Seine to absorb. Mont St Michel’s ethereal atmosphere is another must, as is the peak of Mont Blanc, Europe’s highest mountain. The amphitheatre and the Pont du Gard at Nimes, the bridge at Avignon, the Bayeux Tapestry and the World War Two bunkers and memorials in Normandy and the caves at Lascaux and Rouffignac… we could go on. For years.

Iconic France has enough for even the most gluttonous of cultural gourmands. See the Mona Lisa in the Louvre, the best modern art at the Pompidou, and shades of Louis XIV at the Palace of Versailles. Take in a show at the Moulin Rouge or hip hop in Marseilles. Sample some champagne in Champagne, or mourn the fallen at the Normandy beaches. Find a chateau, cruise down a canal or across an aqueduct, then pop into a café and nosh on a croissant. Then there’s shopping to be done, foie gras to be tasted or a cordon bleu chef to find.