Best Western Hotel Le Guilhem

In the historic heart of Montpellier, the Best Western Hotel Le Guilhem, Montpellier, France, has kept the charm of its 16th-century architecture through a careful renovation, each room given its own character and the large terrace opening onto fine views over the city's hidden gardens. The terrace looks toward the 12th-century faculty of medicine, and the rooms blend period character with modern comfort, an atmospheric base from which to set off into the old town. The setting puts the lanes and squares of historic Montpellier right at the door. Montpellier grew up around the oldest working medical school in the world, and its old town is a maze of narrow lanes, private mansions, and shaded squares opening onto the grand Place de la Comedie, with the Mediterranean beaches and the Camargue within easy reach to the south. Close by stand the grand opera house and the Fabre art museum, and the hidden courtyards and gardens reveal themselves slowly to anyone who wanders.