Michelin awards three stars to the brilliant cooking of the “warmly welcoming” owner/chef Gilles Goujon in the stylish restaurant-with-rooms which he runs with his wife, Marie-Christine.

Excellently situated, next to the château', this luxurious 18th-century manor house was built on the foundations of an ancient medieval monastery.

A “delightful” small auberge, stylish, but not posh, created by the actress Leslie Caron from four 17th-century boat houses on the Yonne, and now owned by Jerome Fertal. “The Owl”s Nest” is in an attractive little town with honey-coloured stone buildings in northern Burgundy.

'Excellently located', in the Marais, this 'very friendly' hotel has for three generations been owned and run by Didier Fossiez's family ('he and his wife, Pamela, are delightful').

Ten minutes' walk from the busy old town and its beaches, this converted 1920s mas has something of the air of a private home: 'handsome, quiet and comfortable'.

A “ravishing building”, a 17th-century château, with pepperpot tower, moat with swans, “hens and cockerels strutting in the grounds.

The Île de Ré, offshore from La Rochelle, is a popular bolthole for wealthy Parisians. It has miles of glorious sandy beaches, an interior of pine forests and vineyards, and plenty of charm (planning regulations forbid unsightly hoardings and oversized buildings).

In this upmarket little town near the Spanish border, Roger Larralde and Richard Pérodeau”s white, late 19th-century mansion (Relais & Châteaux) stands quietly near the broad sandy beach and pedestrianised shopping streets.

In two buildings, separated by a garden with a swimming pool, is M. and Mme Grasset's 'relatively modern' Logis de France, popular with golfers.

Beneath the white and turreted château built by Louis X, home of the French Cavalry Academy since 1763, is Jean-René and Mary Lyn Camus”s stylish hotel, an 18th-century listed building overlooking the Loire.

Owner/chef Olivier Roellinger and his wife, Jane, preside over their collection of maisons (Relais & Châteaux) in and around this picturesque fishing port renowned for its oysters.

In a park with century-old trees bordered by box tree walkways, this Renaissance château near Brantôme looks across a valley.

This old hostelry (Logis de France), in a ramparted medieval hamlet on a hilltop west of Dijon, is “a most attractive location; fine views over countryside”.

This 'beautifully refurbished' old bastide is located within walking distance of the ancient fortified village of Reillanne.

'Well placed for visits to central Paris', this 18th-century building is where Puccini set La Bohème.

On the west bank of the Rhône, this historic little town above Avignon has a splendid charterhouse and other noble buildings, including this 14th-century priory, now a luxurious hotel (Relais & Châteaux).

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.

An 11th-century fortified castle at the top of a medieval village in the hills south of Draguinon has been turned into this small hotel where, say the nominators, 'everything was correct'.

Thierry Claudon's B&B hotel is fairly inexpensive despite its grand name, and is housed in an elegant old building in a quiet, pleasant street near Assemblée Nationale, Invalides and Musée Rodin.

Run 'with panache' by its owners, Anne and Jean Milliau Le Coz, this upmarket beach hotel (Relais & Châteaux) is described by correspondents as 'delightful'.

An unusual and stylish modern hotel (Relais & Châteaux) on a hillside in the south-eastern suburb of Bouliac.

Set just 200m from the cable car, M. and Mme Georges's hotel is in the centre of a large Pyrenean ski resort in the heart of the Catalan Pyrenees Regional Nature Park, just 15 minutes from Spain.

Built in 1930 as a radio station, this homage to Art Deco sits on a hillside in this residential suburb of Clermont-Ferrand

'A lovely hotel'. The owner/managers, Anne and Xavier Olivereau, are the fourth generation of the family to run this handsome pepperpotted Second Empire mansion, set amid woods and lawns in a park.

Set in the centre of Val Thorn, in the Trois Vallées ski area, this family-run ski-in/ski-out hotel has garnered much praise for both the warm interiors – typically wood-panelled and cozy – and the impressive five course dinners served at night.

“We thought it excellent value, and a very French experience, so close to the UK,” says a report.

In an area of the Perigord, rich in geese, plum trees and pigeonniers, this traditional chateau hotel stands in country surrounded by forest.

“Slap bang between the seafront and rue d”Antibes (great for shopping)”, Jerry Duburq's “little gem” of a hotel, decorated in Provençal style, is warmly recommended.

Right by the sea, this 17th-century manor house, just east of the port, is now an attractive hotel whose owner, a Mme Chapalain and her son, 'are very kind', says a returning visitor.