The Riviera's small hotels – seven hideaways with history

An inn with Picasso on the walls, a corner room where Cocteau lived, and a Swedish prince's house on a cliff. The Riviera's best hotels are rarely the largest. Here are seven small establishments with a grand history – all real, all worth a detour.

The Riviera is renowned for its palace hotels – the white façades along the Croisette, the domes of Monte-Carlo. But the memorable stays often happen elsewhere: in an inn in a hilltop village, in a corner room by a fishing harbour, in a house that was once someone's private retreat. These are hotels where history isn't a marketing argument but is built into the walls.

We have selected seven small houses along the coast, from Saint-Tropez to Èze. All of them are real, and all have a history that can be verified. Prices and availability vary considerably with the season; many are closed for part of the winter.

1. La Colombe d'Or, Saint-Paul-de-Vence

At the entrance to the walled village of Saint-Paul-de-Vence, Paul Roux opened an inn with just three rooms in 1931. The artists who lived and ate here left works behind, and today Picasso, Matisse, Miró, Modigliani, Braque, Léger, Utrillo, Chagall and Ben hang on the walls. Simone Signoret and Yves Montand celebrated their wedding here in 1951. By the 1980s, the house had 25 rooms. This is not a hotel you book for the facilities, but to sleep in one of the 20th century's most important artists' haunts. Read more in our story about La Colombe d'Or and our 48 hours in Saint-Paul-de-Vence.

2. Hôtel Welcome, Villefranche-sur-Mer

On the quay at Villefranche, a few steps from the fishermen's chapel, lies Hôtel Welcome. Jean Cocteau came to Villefranche in the 1920s, decided to stay and checked in here. He chose the corner room with a view of the harbour, today room 22, known as the Cocteau room, according to France Today. Around thirty years later he painted the Saint-Pierre chapel on the other side of the quay. More about the town can be found in our walk through Villefranche-sur-Mer and on VERA PI's page about Villefranche-sur-Mer.

3. Château Eza, Èze

Built into the houses on the cliff edge in the medieval village of Èze, 429 metres above sea level, lies Château Eza. Between 1923 and 1953, it was the private residence of Prince Wilhelm of Sweden. Today it is a small hotel with around a dozen rooms and suites, and the restaurant holds a star in the 2026 Michelin Guide. The view over the Mediterranean from the terrace is hard to beat.

4. Château de la Chèvre d'Or, Èze

A few alleys away lies the house's more famous neighbour. The hotelier Robert Wolf bought Château de la Chèvre d'Or in 1953 and turned it into a restaurant. After Walt Disney's visit in 1956, it became famous worldwide, and Wolf subsequently bought house after house in the village and converted them into individual hotel rooms. The hotel was one of the first six stops on “La Route du Bonheur”, founded in 1954, which became Relais & Châteaux. The restaurant has two stars in the Michelin Guide 2026 – read more in our story about La Chèvre d'Or, and walk the village with from the sea to the summit at Èze.

5. Hôtel La Ponche, Saint-Tropez

In the old fishing quarter of La Ponche in Saint-Tropez stands a hotel with about twenty rooms that began life as a simple bar where fishermen used to gather. Boris Vian helped to make it a favourite among the bohemians of Saint-Germain-des-Prés, and it was frequented by Brigitte Bardot during the filming of Et Dieu… créa la femme, Françoise Sagan, who came here to write, and Romy Schneider. Simone Duckstein, daughter of the bar's owner, is part of the house's history. This is Saint-Tropez as it was before the jet set.

6. La Réserve Ramatuelle

In Ramatuelle, south of Pampelonne, lies La Réserve Ramatuelle, the most secluded address on this list, with views over the open sea. The restaurant La Voile has two stars in the Michelin Guide 2026. Also read our guide to Ramatuelle and Pampelonne.

7. Hôtel Belles Rives, Juan-les-Pins

The villa by the water in Juan-les-Pins was called Villa Saint-Louis when F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald spent time here with their friends Gerald and Sara Murphy in the 1920s. It was here that Fitzgerald began writing Tender Is the Night. In 1929, Boma and Simone Estène bought the villa, and in 1930 they opened Hôtel Belles Rives in the art deco style. The house is still owned by the family, and since 2011 the literary prize Prix Fitzgerald has been awarded here; the winner gets to sleep a night in Fitzgerald's old room. In 2026, the prize went to Julian Barnes – more in our story about Belles Rives.

You'll find more destinations and addresses along the coast among our Riviera guides at metromode.co and in VERA PI's guide to Monaco.

For a weekend. For a lifetime.