Produced by Virtuoso with Atout France
July 21, 2026
Parisian beauties, seaside escapes, Alps hideaways, countryside châteaus, and more.
France contains an abundance of five-star hotels, but some of them are so exceptional that they’re in a league of their own. That league, according to the French Ministry of Tourism, is known as the Palaces de France – a special, rigorously reviewed distinction that recognizes hotels that stand out in the areas of gastronomy, architecture and design, sustainability, and service. The government established the “Palace” status in 2010, and 33 hotels currently hold the honor, including six new additions this year across Paris, the French Alps, the South of France, and Champagne. For the ultimate in French luxury, look to these spectacular Palaces.
Architecture and Design Standouts
The Palaces de France exemplify the country’s diverse offerings, from majestic châteaus in the South of France to inviting chalets in the French Alps to Parisian addresses that bridge past and present. Rosewood’s 124-room Hôtel de Crillon, for example, is housed in an eighteenth-century neoclassical building designed by architect Ange-Jacques Gabriel. (Marie Antoinette took piano lessons here.) When Rosewood Hotels took over the property in the early 2010s, architects and designers (including the late Karl Lagerfeld) embarked on a massive, four-year restoration project that balanced history with modernity. Beyond the colonnaded facade that faces the Place de la Concorde, interiors feature elegant rooms and suites furnished with antique objets d’art, oversize windows, and marble-drenched bathrooms.
The relationship between old and new shines at the 72-room Cheval Blanc Paris, one of this year’s new Palace hotels. Guests witness the hotel’s art appreciation from the moment they arrive: The hotel’s facade features a floral motif by contemporary artist Jean-Michel Othoniel crafted from glass beads, gold-leafed aluminum, and ironwork. Inside the 1928 art deco building on the city’s Right Bank, works by French masters line the walls, a commissioned Frank Gehry sculpture serves as a lobby centerpiece, and woven metal textiles by artist Sophie Mallebranche adorn the hotel’s grand staircase, leading to the Dior Spa.
When Le Royal Monceau – Raffles Paris first opened in 1928, the 149-room hotel quickly became a hot spot for the era’s creative minds – Coco Chanel, Josephine Baker, and Ernest Hemingway were all regular guests. These days, the Philippe Starck-designed spaces still draw a stylish crowd, who admire the hotel’s 300-piece art collection, tap the dedicated art concierge for access to the city’s top museums and of-the-moment exhibitions, and pick up souvenirs in the hotel’s art-themed bookstore. “The most extraordinary hotels are built around a point of view, and ours has always been art,” says Nicolas Dubort, Le Royal Monceau’s managing director. “We are, and have always been, an artist’s residence.”
