Palace is not a rating we award — it is a distinction the French state awards, above the five-star ceiling, recognising heritage, architecture, gastronomy and cultural weight. This collection does not second-guess it. It records who holds it, and when we checked.
The sensor is therefore external and unusually clean: a national commission under Atout France decides, house by house rather than brand by brand, and the list changes at review. A house of equal quality without the distinction is excellent and classified elsewhere — the question here is narrow by design, and the distinction is not ours to grant.
The question is declared, the sensor is published, and the ground travels with the verdict.
