In 1954, the husband-and-wife team of Marcel and Nelly Tilloy, two music-hall entertainers and owners of La Cardinale hotel and restaurant on the right bank of the Rhône in Ardèche, two visionaries contemplating society’s rush to experience magical moments, joined forces with a handful of hotelier friends to form the organization ‘Les Relais de Campagne.’ This convivial consortium was officially born in Thoissey, a small town north of Lyon, on May 12, 1954, at Le Chapon Fin, the property of Paul Blanc, the uncle of chef Georges Blanc. In total, eight establishments between Paris and Nice planted the seed of what would ultimately bloom into Relais & Châteaux. Each one was located in the countryside, away from the hustle and bustle of towns, on side roads near the Nationale 7–then the country’s vacation thoroughfare, but which was competing with the opening of a new southern highway that would bypass them and threaten them with a premature demise.

As Les Relais de Campagne swiftly spread far and wide, a competing group, Châteaux Hôtels et Vieilles Demeures, looked on with more than a little envy, until the year 1974, when the presidents of the two entities made the decision to collaborate rather than compete, and then to ultimately merge. Their joint Association adopted the name Relais & Châteaux, a friendly, mutually beneficial and unifying alliance that was structured and strong enough to embrace and expand the Routes du Bonheur. From 1975 onwards, with a solid reputation and strong momentum, Relais & Châteaux gathered pace and the not-for-profit Association welcomed more and more members from across the globe. Today, it counts 580 properties in 65 countries, weaving the most incredible travel tapestry–from one establishment to the next, from longitude to latitude–that we still call Routes du Bonheur.

For Relais & Châteaux properties, being a thread in the local fabric is more than an ideal: it is a living, breathing way of life that puts people at the center. It means each property is an active stakeholder in its region, encouraging dialogue with local communities and helping them with their needs and aspirations, like generating school funding, or assisting with meals for children so that they may go to class nourished and strong, just as the Resplendent Ceylon group does in Sri Lanka. By selecting architects, artisans, and landscapers anchored in local culture and involving them in construction and renovation projects, like at the Al Moudira Hotel in the Valley of the Queens in Luxor. Its cotton bed linens are embroidered by Threads of Hope, a social enterprise that creates dignified employment for refugees, migrants and local women by training in traditional weaving and embroidery. In Peru, the Sol y Luna Foundation has become an influential entity in local development by founding a school, where children from neighboring communities attend lessons to learn about everything from nutrition to foreign languages. The Relais & Châteaux maîtres de maison know and nurture the treasures of their terroirs, earnestly preserving and promoting them, and–crucially–sharing them with their guests.

Many properties are handed down from generation to generation within the same family, with the younger members determined to carry on the work of their ancestors, to perpetuate their family values. Association members who take over from their elders bring a contemporary energy to their properties while safeguarding the establishment’s personality: its soul. This is what Relais & Châteaux is all about: a large, close-knit family, a not-for-profit Association that deliberately limits its member numbers, selecting them based on quality, common values, and the kindness and goodwill they show their communities and staff.