Chamonix
Exuding belle époque charm, this buttercup and powder-blue hotel is one of the prettiest buildings in Chamonix. Established in 1840, the hotel's 30 rooms…
Must-see hotels in French Alps & the Jura Mountains
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The Jura Mountains
Every imaginable luxury is available at La Mainaz: chic chalet-style rooms with coffee machines, ultramodern anthracite-walled bathrooms, and a high…
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Chambéry
Starting from the ground-floor épicerie (grocery) once frequented by 18th-century luminary JJ Rousseau, this five-star, family-run boutique hotel has…
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Grenoble
Like the service, rooms at Le Grand Hôtel are refined and sleek. Rooms are attired with high-quality bed sheets, spotless bathrooms and modern-art chairs,…
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Besançon
Sleep in the same 18th-century coaching inn as renowned novelists George Sand and Colette. Rococo styling and ornate wallpaper add antique glamour to…
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The Jura Mountains
A 17th-century stone convent has been lovingly transformed into this boutique B&B, with five rooms remarkable for their pared-down elegance, a tree-shaded…
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The Jura Mountains
Ideally located for forays into Parc du Haut-Jura or Château de Joux, this enormously friendly guesthouse has tasteful, modern, monochrome rooms equipped…
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Annecy
Forget the prosaic name – this canalside hotel, occupying an 18th-century building in the pedestrianised heart of the city, has the most eccentric and…
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Chamonix
There's just one way to access this iconic mountain address, overlooking the shimmering ice of Mer de Glace – by the Train du Montenvers cog railway. Its…
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Chamonix
Overlooking the Arve River, this third-generation family hotel has quiet, compact rooms, tastefully decorated with chocolate brown drapes and liberal…
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Chamonix
This beautifully converted farmhouse, ablaze with geraniums in summer, offers pristine mountain views, an outdoor hot tub, a sauna and a bar whose open…
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Chambéry
This dapper family hotel is one of the oldest in town, squirrelled away in a 1471-built convent that once guarded the Shroud of Turin. Rooms feel…
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The Jura Mountains
Hosts Guy and Marie have turned Hôtel Vauban into a home away from home for travellers passing through. More than 200 whimsical oil paintings by local…
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Chamonix
Family-run since 1920, this grande dame of the Chamonix accommodation scene uplifts its guests with leafy gardens, a well-chosen breakfast banquet (€18)…
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Besançon
Slumbering behind the cathedral, in the shade of the citadel, this discreetly grand 18th-century town house has double rooms with period furniture and…
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Chamonix
This lively hotel has 21 compact rooms – all with new bathrooms and some with fantastic Aiguille du Midi views. There's also a more-than-decent restaurant…
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The Jura Mountains
Within this elegantly restored farmhouse, five spacious, en-suite rooms – all with either hardwood or antique tile floors – are decorated with soothing…
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Chamonix
Run by the same family since 1908, this welcoming hotel has stunning views of the Aiguille du Midi and Mont Blanc. There are 40 pine-panelled rooms, an…
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Annecy
Just across the square from the château's imposing gatehouse, this family-run hotel has a panoramic breakfast terrace and 16 neat rooms with rustic pine…
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Chamonix
Perched 2352m above sea level, the WWII-era Refuge du Lac Blanc is a wooden chalet famed for dazzling views of Mont Blanc and the eponymous White Lake…
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The Jura Mountains
Inside a converted 18th-century mill, this eccentric country hotel overhangs a babbling stream 1km south of Poligny. The 'Happy Valley' is a labyrinth of…
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Grenoble
Family-run Splendid offers a more personal touch than most of Grenoble's business-focussed hotels. Its 45 rooms are individually designed (and a matter of…
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Grenoble
With more than two centuries of history behind it, dead-central Hôtel de l’Europe lays claim to being Grenoble’s oldest hotel. Though venerable, its 39…
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Annecy
The aptly named Splendid's 58 rooms have a contemporary feel, with cream walls, crimson throws and polished wooden floors, but modern trimmings like…
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The Jura Mountains
A belle époque hotel right in the city centre, the grand (if gently faded) 'Golden Barrel' combines its original Corinthian columns, huge stained-glass…
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Annecy
Bright, super-clean dorm rooms (mixed-sex and women-only) elicit contented sighs from travellers rocking up at this well-managed hostel. Beyond backpacker…
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Chamonix
A block from the Aiguille du Midi cable car, this lift-equipped hotel has 15 plain but well-maintained rooms, snugly built of thick pine, opening on to…
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Besançon
Tucked into a cobbled courtyard, a 10-minute walk from the Citadelle, the Best Western succeeds in retaining some of the charm of an independent hotel…
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Annecy
Subdued, business-efficient rooms fill this multi-storey hotel, with occasional nods to Alpine style like faux-fur throws and a glacial white colour…
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Grenoble
The parkside suburb setting might not have the charm of the town centre, but friendly English-speaking staff at HI Grenoble run it like clockwork. The top…
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Annecy
In a warren-like 18th-century building in the centre of the old town, this hotel leans towards nostalgia with parchment-effect wallpaper and regal maroon…
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Besançon
These classy apartments are within the handsome walls of a converted 18th-century town house – once used by canons from the nearby cathedral. Apartments…
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Chamonix
Stylish in an upmarket-Ikea kind of way, this boutique hotel has 28 dinky monochrome rooms, lifted by splashes of crimson. There's also afternoon tea, a…
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Chamonix
In a grand old building constructed in 1914 (and run by the same family ever since), this hotel – as friendly as it is central – has 52 spacious rooms…
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Chamonix
Long a favourite of low-budget climbing groups and luxury-averse skiers, this basic place has 67 places in dorm rooms of four to 15 bunk beds; bathrooms…
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The Jura Mountains
Opposite the abbey are three sunny, wood-floored rooms in a 16th-century house, backed by carefully tended gardens.
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Chamonix
Named for 19th-century British mountaineer Isabella Straton, whose grandchildren opened the hotel, this pleasing spot lies just west of Chamonix train…
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The Jura Mountains
Family-run Hôtel Étoile des Neiges has bright, well-kept rooms, including great mezzanine family rooms. There’s an indoor pool, a sauna, a tiny fitness…
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Chamonix
One of the Chamonix-Mont Blanc Valley's long-standing family concerns (this one's been handed down from Chamel to Chamel since 1889), the Hôtel du Buet…
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Annecy
Near the train station, this spick-and-span hotel has 32 individually decorated rooms with blonde wood walls, squeaky-clean bathrooms and sound-proofed…
