Boules is the pre-dinner ritual that quietly becomes the best part of the day. A gravel court under trees, a cold drink in one hand, a six-year-old who has appointed herself the official measurer of distances, and a game with rules loose enough that nobody is excluded and stakes high enough that everyone argues. It is the most sociable half hour on the property.

The hotels in this collection have built proper boules or petanque courts. Think a genuine gravel or crushed-stone piste rather than a patch of lawn, sets available at the bar or reception without a deposit ritual, lighting that lets the game run past sunset, and a location near where the adults are already sitting, which is the whole point. French, Italian, and Provençal properties lead here, where the game is local rather than imported.

Below are the top family hotels with boules, sorted by overall score.