France Travel Stories

Jan 5, 2020 • 5 min read

Family skiing in the French Alps is possible on a budget – if you know where to look. Here’s three great resorts for those with young skiers in tow.

Oct 3, 2019 • 4 min read

Our writer reveals why he avoided the Paris crowds and headed instead for the handsome architecture, great food and fabulous art museums of Lille.

Sep 9, 2019 • 4 min read

The city of Lyon is known for its picturesque old town and its fantastic food. Here's how much I spent on a day and night in Lyon.

Aug 1, 2019 • 4 min read

Glamour, glitz, theater, comedy, body positivity, freedom of expression and striptease – what’s not to love? The art of burlesque first came onto the…

Jul 12, 2019 • 4 min read

When you think you've seen and done it all and things just can’t get any better, what are you supposed to do? You do 'it' (whatever 'it' might be) in the…

Jul 1, 2019 • 6 min read

Paris' multitude of markets plunge visitors into the heart of shopping in the French capital. Bustling street markets and rues commerçantes are piled high…

Jun 14, 2019 • 5 min read

Just an hour north of Paris by high-speed train, and with fast, direct rail links to London and Brussels, Lille makes an accessible, eco-friendly city…

Jun 4, 2019 • 5 min read

6 June marks the 75th anniversary of the D-Day beach landings, the largest seaborne invasion in history. Early on the morning of 6 June 1944, swarms of…

Jun 4, 2019 • 6 min read

The largest seaborne invasion ever seen was launched from choppy waters onto the wind-whipped shores of German-held Normandy in the early hours of 6 June…

Jun 2, 2019 • 3 min read

Home to awe-inspiring masterpieces (the Mona Lisa, the Venus de Milo) the Louvre is the world's most popular museum but lately it's beginning to suffer…

May 31, 2019 • 4 min read

The Women’s World Cup is being held in France from 7 June to 7 July this year, and football fans from around the world are expected to fill stadiums, bars…

May 28, 2019 • 3 min read

Tom Stainer, Digital Editor at Lonely Planet, recently returned from a trip to the Tarn region of France. Here's how to make the most of this beautiful,…

Apr 12, 2019 • 7 min read

Few geniuses have left as powerful an imprint on art, science and popular culture as Leonardo da Vinci (1452–1519). Paintings like the Mona Lisa and The…

Mar 25, 2019 • 5 min read

Jazz music has infused Paris since the Great War. Building on the genre’s rich, politically influential and often serendipitous history, an evocative jazz…

Oct 25, 2018 • 5 min read

Ambitious environmental initiatives are making the French capital cleaner and greener than ever. Visitors to Paris today will encounter riverbank parks…

Oct 15, 2018 • 6 min read

Whether hiking on trails with altitude, rafting foaming rivers, tearing downhill on a mountain bike or skis, or paragliding above peaks, the Alps will…

Aug 22, 2017 • 6 min read

The ancient is coming back into vogue in southern France. In 2019, two new museums will shine a spotlight on Roman history: Nîmes’ Musée de la Romanité…

Aug 13, 2015 • 6 min read

A weekend in the south of France may conjure up thoughts of Cannes or St-Tropez, but if you’re looking to escape the hordes, Hyères is a unique hideaway.

Jun 19, 2015 • 5 min read

France is seriously big– more than twice the size of the UK and larger than Spain and Greece combined. With great size comes great diversity – of climate,…

Mar 17, 2015 • 7 min read

Paris is foodie heaven, a showcase par excellence of French cuisine. But it's not all about dining in Michelin-starred haute cuisine temples and edgy…

Jun 24, 2014 • 6 min read

During the First World War, the Western Front became a byword for mud, misery and suffering. From 1914 to 1918, hundreds of thousands of men on both sides…

Apr 11, 2014 • 6 min read

When it comes to French cities, there are a few that stand out as traveller favourites: Nice, Bordeaux, Lyon and, of course, Paris. Toulouse is all too…