The Loire Valley
Fans of Tintin might find the façade of Château de Cheverny strangely familiar: Hérgé used it as a model (minus the two end towers) for Moulinsart …
Must-see attractions in France
Les Jardins du Manoir d’Eyrignac
Sarlat-la-Canéda
While it's not quite the work of Edward Scissorhands, these topiary gardens are nonetheless a labour of love, with everything clipped by hand. A…
St-Jean Pied de Port
Dating back to the 14th century, this vaulted cellar served as the town jail after 1795, as a military lock-up in the 19th century, then as a place of…
Point Zéro des Routes de France
Paris
Distances from Paris to every part of metropolitan France are measured from this bronze star embedded in the paving stones of the vast square in front of…
Poitiers
The town's grand Gothic cathedral safeguards beautiful 13th-century oak-carved choir stalls, an 18th-century organ with more than 3000 pipes and…
Le Marais, Ménilmontant & Belleville
One block east of bd de Belleville, narrow rue Dénoyez was known for years as Paris' most dazzling street-art street, with everything from litter bins and…
Languedoc-Roussillon
Opened in 1974, this 300-hectare wildlife reserve aims to recreate the atmosphere of the African savannah – a climate not all that different from the…
Parc Naturel Régional des Volcans d'Auvergne
Pick a round of St-Nectaire cheese, along with terrines, jams and other regional nibbles, from this dairy shop across the road from the Grottes du…
St-Germain & Les Invalides
East of the Palais du Luxembourg within the Jardin du Luxembourg is the ornate, Italianate Fontaine des Médicis, built in 1630. During Baron Haussmann’s…
Gorges du Verdon
Moustiers’ decorative faience (glazed earthenware) once graced the dining tables of Europe’s most aristocratic houses. Today each of Moustiers’ 15…
The Loire Valley
This quirky château is still furnished much as it was 150 years ago when it belonged to Polish count, financier, railroad magnate and friend-of-Napoleon…
Normandy
This cable-stayed bridge, opened in 1995, stretches in a soaring 2km arch over the Seine between Le Havre and Honfleur. It’s a typically French affair, as…
Le Havre
This colossal building, built in 1958 to replace one flattened by allied bombing in 1944, was designed by architects Auguste Perret – that great…
Musée d'Histoire Naturelle Henri-Lecoq
Clermont-Ferrand
Clermont’s natural history museum is a pleasant enough rainy-day diversion. The first floor pays homage to the city’s most famous son, 17th-century…
Nîmes
World-famous fizzy water Perrier has its source in natural springs 13km southwest of Nîmes. You can watch a 3D film that explains Perrier’s history, the…
Grenoble
This modest museum, housed in the restored apartment of his maternal grandfather, Docteur Gagnon, celebrates the work of the author of The Red and the…
Montmartre & Northern Paris
One of 12 windmills that dotted the hill of Montmartre in the mid-18th century, Moulin Radet is one of just two remaining today. The Radet windmill dates…
Bordeaux
A visit to this Museum of Ethnography is as much an excuse to nose around the old medical faculty of Bordeaux's prestigious university, established in…
Montmartre & Northern Paris
Epitomising Montmartre's enchanting village-like atmosphere, the quartier has its own small vineyard. Planted in 1933, its 2000 vines produce an average…
Institut des Cultures d'Islam-Goutte d'Or
Montmartre & Northern Paris
This branch building of the nearby Islam Cultural Institute, in the heart of the Goutte d'Or neighbourhood, hosts exhibitions, concerts, poetry readings…
The Loire Valley
Built from the 11th to the 15th century, this vast cathedral juxtaposes a Romanesque nave with later Gothic elements. The stained glass dates as far back…
Monastère Notre Dame de Cimiez
Nice
Painters Henri Matisse and Raoul Dufy are buried in the cemetery of this monastery, a five-minute walk across the park from the Musée Matisse. To reach…
Chambéry
This former hôtel particulier (historic private mansion) has interactive displays on local culture on its upper floor. It's also the starting point for…
St-Jean de Luz
This small château was constructed in the 13th century and has been in the hands of the same family ever since. Rooms are decorated in period style and…
The Loire Valley
Built in the early 1100s and rebuilt in the mid-1600s after being burnt by Calvinists during the Wars of Religion, this church – visited by Joan of Arc in…
Montpellier
This municipal museum has a fairly pedestrian collection of local-interest pieces ranging from furniture to paintings and antique weaponry, but it’s worth…
Arles
Just as social, political and religious life revolved around the forum in Roman Arles, so the busy plane-tree-shaded place du Forum still buzzes with life…
Latin Quarter
At 74 rue du Cardinal Lemoine is the apartment where Ernest Hemingway (1899–1961) lived with his first wife, Hadley, from January 1922 until August 1923 …
Clermont-Ferrand
In a simple, schoolroom format, this small museum details the chronology of events following 21 June 1940, when Nazi troops marched into Clermont-Ferrand…
Aix-en-Provence
A wonderful terraced garden perfect for a picnic, from where Cézanne, among others, painted the Montagne Ste-Victoire. The view of the jagged mountain is…
Parc Naturel Régional des Volcans d'Auvergne
Fans of French formal gardens will enjoy the 15th-century Château de Cordès, 2.5km north of Orcival off D27. Visitors can explore the manicured lawns and…
The Loire Valley
Well-presented exhibits tell the story of how a river that's basically non-navigable was used for commerce using ultra-shallow-draft (70cm) boats…
Paris
The austere, neoclassical Atonement Chapel, opposite 36 rue Pasquier, sits atop the section of a cemetery where Louis XVI, Marie Antoinette and many other…
Collioure
The most scenic way to reach this 14th-century windmill is a 950m walk through olive and almond groves from Fort St-Elme along the Cami del Port de Sant…
Orléans
An excellent 15-minute film (in French or English) tracing Joan of Arc's origins, accomplishments and historical impact is the main attraction at the…
Limoges
All that remains of the once-great pilgrimage point St-Martial abbey, founded in AD 848, is a faint outline on place de la République, and an underground…
Côte d'Azur
In comparison to some of Provence's other Roman ruins, Fréjus' amphitheatre is a little underwhelming – it was badly damaged during archaeological digs,…
Chemin de Fer Touristique Limousin–Périgord
Limoges
Clamber aboard carriages pulled by a 1932 steam engine on the Chemin Touristique Limousin–Périgord to watch the Limousin’s fields and forests roll by. The…
Chartres
From rue Cardinal Pie, the stairways Tertre St-Nicolas and rue Chantault – the latter lined with medieval houses (number 29 is the oldest house in…
Marseille
This niche museum is housed in the city’s former sanitary station, operational from 1948 until 1971. It’s essentially a graphic art museum exploring…
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