Tips & articles
France is the
world’s top tourist destination and for good reason. There's a
lot packed into just one country – artistic and architectural
masterpieces, remarkable museums and natural landscapes, and a history
harking back far beyond the Romans. Top it off with fine wine, food and a
culinary culture that permeates through every city and small town, and
the only hard part is deciding where to go first.
Paris
France’s
chic, sexy capital has to be experienced at least once. Mix
picture-postcard icons with simple Parisian moments and you'll truly
fall in love with the city. Scale the Eiffel Tower then walk or cycle along the Seine, or cruise down it on a bateau-mouche (bateaux-mouches.fr). Venerate Notre Dame then grab a post-cathedral café at Café Saint-Régis, ice-cream at Berthillon or super juice at literary café of mythical bookshop Shakespeare & Company. Hit the Louvre then collapse on a bench with a Pierre Hermé macaron in the Tuileries or Palais Royal gardens. Delve into hilltop Montmartre with a local Paris Greeter (greeters.paris). Escape to posh leafy Versailles and come back blown away by France’s most famous chateau.
Whether
you head up to the top or simply admire from below, Paris' signature
spire is a must-see. Image by Loic Lagarde/Photostock/Getty
Loire Valley
Stunning châteaux are scattered around the lush Loire Valley. Stand in awe of the Renaissance supertanker of a castle Château de Chambord, and graceful Château de Chenonceau astride the Cher River. Château de Blois with its whistle-stop tour of French architecture, and classical Château de Cheverny where the spectacle of the dogs having dinner steals the show, is the perfect one-day combo. In summer put the gardens at Château de Villandry and Château d’Azay-le-Rideau
after dark on your hit list. Base yourself in Tours, Blois or Amboise;
hire a bike to pedal along the Loire riverbanks at least once; and try
to catch a son-et-lumière (sound-and-light) show.
Be
captivated by the elegant arches of Château de Chenonceau spanning the
Cher River in the Loire Valley. Image by Danita
Delimont/Photostock/Getty
French Riviera
This strip of seashore on the big blue Med has it all – hence half the world crowding it out in summer. The seaside town of Nice
is the queen of the Riviera with its cutting-edge art museums, belle
époque architecture, pebble beaches and legendary promenade. Glitzy day
trips trail film stars in Cannes, Formula One drivers in Monaco, and hobnobbing celebs ‘n socialites in St-Tropez. Sensational coastal views make the drive along the three coastal roads from Nice to Menton
an absolute must. Otherwise, grab your hiking boots and stride out in
the fiery Massif de l’Estérel for brilliant red-rock mountain scenery.
Claim your parasol and pebbly spot on the beach at Nice in the French Riviera. Image by Fraser Hall/Photostock/Getty
Provence
Check all devices are fully charged: the extraordinary light and
landscape in this part of France’s south demands constant snapping and
sharing. Start with Marseille, a millennia-old port with striking museums such as the MuCEM and coastline straight off a film set. Inland, zoom in on glorious Roman amphitheatres and aqueducts in Nîmes, Orange and at the Pont du Gard.
Drive past lavender fields and cherry orchards to hilltop villages and
food markets in the bucolic Luberon and Vaucluse regions. No lens is
large enough for the peak of Mont Ventoux (a cyclist's paradise) or the Gorges du Verdon, Europe’s deepest canyon with 800m sheer-drop cliffs and startling emerald green water, no filter required.
Jump in a car to explore Provence's aromatic purple bloom and hillside villages. Image by Peter Zelei/Photostock/Getty
Champagne
This sparkling viticulture region in northern France is all
class. Where else can you sip Champers in centuries-old cellars and
taste your way through vineyards and medieval villages straight out of a
Renoir painting? Stay in Reims (pronounced something similar to ‘rance’) or Épernay to visit Pommery, Mumm, Moët & Chandon
and other big-name Champagne houses. In Reims, pick a clear day to
scale the tower of the cathedral where dozens of French kings were
crowned. From both towns, scenic Champagne driving routes thrust motorists into the heart of this intoxicating region.
Take
a tour of a Champagne house and toast your trip with a glass of the
real stuff. Image by Bernhard Limberger/Photostock/Getty
Brittany & Normandy
A wind-buffeted part of northern France, Brittany & Normandy
was created especially for outdoor fiends and history buffs with
sensational seafood, cliff-top walks, a craggy coastline and ancient
sights steeped in lore and legend. Top billing is Mont St-Michel, a magical mysterious abbey-island, best approached barefoot across the sand. Or grab a bicycle and toot your horn at the Carnac megaliths strewn along Brittany’s southern coast (wear a windbreaker). Normandy’s time-travel masterpiece is the Bayeux tapestry but it's the heart-wrenching D-Day beaches and WWII war cemeteries nearby that will really take you back to a moment in history.
Sink
your toes into the sand as you make your way out to the magical abbey
of Mont St-Michel. Image by Evan Reinheimer/Photostock/Getty
French Alps
The French Alps is one massive outdoor playground, which pumps
during the ski season (December to April) when insanely challenging
slopes and trails entice adrenalin junkies from everywhere. Europe’s
highest peak, Mont Blanc, prevails and party town Chamonix is the place to get up close to its might and majesty – the mountain panorama from the top of the Aiguille du Midi cable car is the best there is, whatever the season. If small and chic is more your style then strap on the skis in Megéve or St-Gervais. To let rip after dark over hardcore après-ski head to Val d’Isère or Méribel and Courchevel in Les Trois Vallées.
Peer
down on a world of snow and jagged mountains in the French Alps on the
Aiguille du Midi cable car. Image by David Madison/Photostock/Getty
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