8 hotels for incredible views
Overlooking the ocean, their backs pressed up against the rocks of the Corniche or perched atop a monolith of glass and steel... These hotels all have one thing in common: they place the landscape at the forefront of luxury.
Some addresses are chosen for their chef, others for their spa or their history. And then there are those in a category of their own: hotels where the view is the real argument, the fundamental experience around which everything is organized. Sea, lake, city or mountain: France has no shortage of exceptional panoramas, and neither do the establishments that know how to make the most of them. A ten-stop tour of France (with a slight detour to Paris).
Tiara Miramar Beach Resort, Théoule-sur-Mer, Alpes-Maritimes
Théoule-sur-Mer has always played the low-key game: just a stone's throw from Cannes, this resort nestled at the foot of the Estérel massif has escaped the overcrowding of the Côte d'Azur. The Tiara Miramar is its totem hotel. Built in the 1930s, this five-star hotel, recently integrated into the IHG group (Curio Collection), has undergone a thorough renovation: 60 rooms and suites now, with preserved oriental inspirations - moucharabiehs, shimmering fabrics, clean lines. Almost all open onto a small private beach bordering an almost unreal blue cove. Since 2020, the address has retained its gastronomic dimension with L'Or Bleu, a restaurant led by chef Alain Montigny, whose terrace facing the bay alone is worth the trip.
- Price: doubleroom from €215
- I want to go to the Tiara Miramar Beach Hôtel & Spa
La Co(o)rniche, La Teste-de-Buch, Gironde
From the terrace of La Co(o)rniche, you can't get enough of it: the Pilat Dune looms to the right, the Banc d'Arguin shimmers below, and the Atlantic Ocean stretches to the horizon. Philippe Starck revisited this 1930s ancestor in 2009, playing on contrasts: the main house, with its dark woodwork and period frescoes, sits alongside luxurious overhanging cabins opening 180° onto the ocean. 29 rooms and suites in all. In the restaurant, when the setting sun sets the water ablaze, the seafood and refined dishes of chef Christophe Beaupuy take us on an extraordinary journey. Without doubt the finest address in the Arcachon basin.
- Price: doubleroom from €510
- I want to go toHôtel La Co(o)rniche
U Capu Biancu, Bonifacio, Corsica
You have to want to get there: the track that winds through the scrubland between Porto-Vecchio and Bonifacio gives no indication of what awaits at the end. Then the bay appears, hemmed in blond sand, with the hotel overlooking it, shaded by bougainvillea and palm trees. The rooms of this four-star hotel play the score of elegant simplicity: wood, stone, rattan, turquoise and ochre cameos. Each opens onto a terrace, and the infinity pool gives the impression of plunging straight into the sea. In the evening, you can dine at the gourmet restaurant U Capu Biancu, where you'll be treated to committed cuisine featuring the finest seafood. La Paillote, open to all, offers a snack break with an unforgettable view.
- - Price: doubleroom from €350
- I want to go toHôtel U Capu Biancu
Maison Heler, Metz, Lorraine
Philippe Starck loves manifestos. This one is perhaps his most singular: a nine-storey monolith topped by a 19th-century Lorraine house, set a stone's throw from the Centre Pompidou-Metz as a benevolent provocation. The hotel, opened in March 2025 and immediately recognized at the AHEAD Awards, comes to life through the fictional character of Manfred Heler, whose poetic universe permeates every space: ancient coins, secret alphabets, stained glass windows by Ara Starck diffusing cathedral-like light. 104 rooms and suites with burnished lines - marble, concrete, leather - and, at the very top, La Maison de Manfred: a panoramic dining room with a bird's-eye view of the fabulous, little-known Saint-Etienne cathedral. One of the finest hotel openings in recent years.
- Price: double room from €150
- I want to go to Maison Heler
Les Bords de Mer, Marseille, Bouches-du-Rhône
On the corniche, a stone's throw from the Catalans beach and the Cercle des Nageurs, Les Bords de Mer immediately stands out with its biscornue silhouette - a 1930s Art Deco building that fascinates even before you push open the door. Behind this listed facade, Marseille architect Yvann Pluskwa has created an unostentatious modernity for the 19 rooms and suites, all of which face the sea: contemporary enough to convince, yet respectful enough not to betray the historic setting. From the bed, you can see the Frioul archipelago. From the rooftop with its heated pool, the four islands look like pebbles scattered by a giant on the horizon. The restaurant serves seasonal Mediterranean cuisine, made all the more delicious by the view, which in Marseille is no mean feat. And for those wishing to explore the city on foot: the Vieux-Port is just five minutes away. An address right in the heart of the city, with its feet almost in the water.
- Price: double room from €200
- I want to go toHôtel Les Bords De Mer
Hôtel du Golf Barrière, Deauville, Normandy
From the heights where this almost century-old establishment stands, Deauville appears in all its completeness: the Planches, the English Channel, the Normandy bocage pastures. Chantal Peyrat's renovation has affirmed the hotel's character without betraying its Anglo-Norman identity: 170 rooms and suites in plant tones, direct views of the sea or the golf courses, two links, tennis and padel courts, an outdoor pool and the myBlend spa to recharge your batteries. The art of living in a luxury resort hotel, with the open sea as a backdrop.
- Price:doubleroomfrom €200
- I want to go toHôtel Barrière L'Hôtel du Golf Deauville
TOO Hotel, Paris, 13ᵉ arrondissement
The idea is almost absurd: a hotel perched 120 meters high atop Jean Nouvel's Duo Towers, just outside the Bibliothèque Nationale. And yet, the TOO Hotel works. Philippe Starck's signature interior plays on warm tones and noble materials to compensate for the strangeness of the situation - sloping windows, oblique structures, Paris flashing by beneath our feet. The panorama, meanwhile, is unstoppable: Eiffel Tower, Sacré-Cœur, the Seine as a ribbon of light. The TOO TacTac skybar has become the ideal den for a cocktail above the hustle and bustle.
- Price: double room from €160
- I want to go to the TOO Hôtel
Maybourne Riviera, Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, Alpes-Maritimes
This is undoubtedly one of the most breathtaking views on the Riviera: from this ultra-luxury hotel anchored in the rock above Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, you can see both Monaco at your feet and the Italian coastline on the horizon. The modernist, transparent architecture showcases the Mediterranean from every angle: rooms, restaurants, hanging gardens, infinity pool. Here, the ocean is not a view: it's the central argument of the experience. An address apart on the coast.
- Price: double room from €1,600
- I want to go to The Maybourne Riviera
