Located by the Théâtre des Célestins, this B&B is much used by visiting actors.

In a shady garden on the edge of this Rhône valley town, this famous restaurant-with-rooms (Relais & Châteaux) was founded by Sophie Pic almost a century ago.

“Family-run and it shows,” say visitors to this chalet-style building (“like a 1930s English cottage with a touch of Gallic flair”).

Easily accessible from the A7 Autoroute du Soleil, and just 24 kilometres from Montélimar (which has a TGV station), the Delaitre family's 'exquisite' ivy-covered, ochre-walled auberge is in a Rhône valley village perchéknown for its glazed pottery.

'What a remarkable place,' says a visitor to this designer hotel in the lively narrow streets of the trendy St-Jean quarter of Vieux Lyon.

Set in a farmhouse dating from 1789 in the ski resort of La Clusaz, Le Vieux Chalet is 'a very small but perfectly located and charmingly decorated hotel', according to recent visitors.

In a village midway between the town and the Mont Blanc Tunnel entrance, this cheerful chalet-style hotel (Logis de France) is owned and run by Bernard and Martine Farini.

For three generations, since 1968, the Troisgros family, pioneers of nouvelle cuisine, ran their famous restaurant opposite la gare of a provincial town, Roanne earning three Michelin stars.

Amid the 'breathtaking scenery' of the eastern Vercors, where, say visitors, 'sheer mountain cliffs rise majestically above trees and meadows', is this 'gem' of a hotel.

On the shore of Lake Geneva, in a “delightful” medieval village, Jeannine and Jean-François Kung”s chalet-style restaurant-with-rooms, with its flowery facade, was thought “charming”, and “welcoming” by visitors.

'In a nondescript little town', near picturesque Valence, 'Michel Chabran's hotel/restaurant is impossible to miss,' says a visitor.

The lawns of this hotel (with loungers and plenty of space for sunbathing) run down to a private beach on the shore of Lake Annecy.

“Worth going to France for,” was one comment on Georges Blanc”s distinguished hotel/restaurant (Relais & Chateaux) is in a village near Mâcon.

'Very smart' and 'beautifully situated' (on the Rhône, in a famous vineyard), the Humann-Donet family's hotel is 'still highly recommended.

“Delightfully located”, outside Challes thermal station, is this superb 15th-century castle, renovated by the Trèves family owners.

This lovely medieval village, with its ramparts, half-timbered houses, and cobbled streets, is often the setting for historical films.

“The food is excellent,” say visitors. In a wine village in the Beaujolais, this restaurant-with-rooms (Logis de France) is run by Bertrand Alizer and his partner Kesaram Choudhary.

Owned by the Girardon family, this lovely 18th-century mansion, once the country home of the bishops of Lyon, is on the edge of a Rhône valley village.

Owned since 1903 by the Carrier family, this luxury hotel (Relais & Châteaux) is named after the Belgian king who loved this ski resort.