Toulouse
Toulouse's former abattoir is now a cutting-edge art gallery hosting temporary exhibits. It's open until 8pm on Thursdays outside school holidays; ask…
Must-see attractions in France
Latin Quarter
French poet Paul Verlaine (1844–96) spent the last years of his life in the Latin Quarter and died here at 39 rue des Descartes. The building is closed to…
Limoges
The Maison de la Boucherie houses a small history museum, and nearby is the tiny Chapelle Saint-Aurélien, dedicated to the patron saint of butchers.
Auvergne
Just south of the Parc Napoléon III is this stretch of parkland hugging the Allier River, landscaped in the style of an English garden during the late…
Arles
Arles' cultural museum, founded all the way back in 1889 with the intent of documenting regional culture, styles and creators, is closed for renovations…
St-Germain & Les Invalides
Fruit trees planted to exacting perfection fill centuries-old orchards in the southern section of the Jardin du Luxembourg.
Montmartre & Northern Paris
Built in the Flamboyant Gothic style from 1429, this church took two centuries to complete. As a result the nave was designed separately, in the classical…
Blois
The façade of Maison des Acrobates, one of the few surviving 15th-century houses in Blois, is decorated with wooden sculptures of figures from medieval…
Normandy
Inside a gorgeous medieval building that once belonged to a knight, this house in Neufchâtel-en-Bray contains a small but interesting museum of local…
Lourdes
By evening or early morning (when the Porte St-Michel is closed), this is the most convenient access to the sanctuary.
Avignon
Porte de la République is one of the gateways to Avignon's walled city, located on the southern edge of the walls, and across from the central train…
Caen
Across from the Château de Caen, the soaring Église St-Pierre was built between the 13th and 16th centuries and was being renovated at the time of writing.
Auvergne
It's worth a peep inside this collegiate church, whose foundations date back to the 6th century, to admire its medieval murals and fine 19th-century organ.
Avignon
Porte de l'Oulle is one of the entryways to Avignon's walled city, located on the northwestern edge of the walls, near the River Rhône and Pont d'Avignon.
Avignon
Porte du Rhône is one of the entryways to Avignon's Unesco-registered walled city, located on the northwestern edge of the walls, near Pont St-Bénézet.
Musée des Arts d’Afrique et d’Asie
Auvergne
Inside a grand 1881 building is assembled a small collection of sculptures, furniture and paintings collected from various Asian and African countries.
Avignon
Porte St-Dominque is one of the entryways to Avignon's Unesco-registered walled city, located on the western edge of the walls, near the River Rhône.
Avignon
Porte de la Ligne is one of the entryways to Avignon's Unesco-registered walled city, located on the northen edge of the walls, near the River Rhône.
Nîmes
Topped by twin towers reaching 70m, Nîmes' largest church (accommodating up to 3000 worshippers) was built in neogothic style between 1867 and 1877.
St-Germain & Les Invalides
Hôtel Matignon has been the official residence of the French prime minister since the start of the Fifth Republic (1958). It's closed to the public.
Monument aux Enfants de l'Aube
Troyes
Erected in 1890, this flag-bedecked memorial, topped by a fleeing woman and child, pays tribute to those who died in the Franco-Prussian war of 1870.
Strasbourg
It’s just a hop across the Canal de la Marne to the swirly silver Palais des Droits de l’Homme, the most eye-catching of all the EU institutions.
Auvergne
This seasonal museum houses rotating exhibits that document the performances, costumes and culture of Vichy’s turn-of-the-20th-century opera house.
The Dordogne
Of the 28 towers that formed Puy St-Front’s medieval fortifications, only the 15th-century Tour Mataguerre, a stout, cylindrical bastion, remains.
Clermont-Ferrand
Follow signs from rue Robertus to a staircase leading to head-on views of the extraordinarily detailed stonework on the Notre Dame du Port church.
Avignon
Porte St-Roch is one of the gateways to Avignon's walled city, located on the southwestern corner of the walls; it's particularly well preserved.
St-Germain & Les Invalides
On Carrefour de l’Odéon, a statue of Georges Danton, a leader of the Revolution and later one of its guillotined victims, stands head intact.
Louvre Porte des Lions Entrance
Paris
This entrance to the Musée du Louvre is invariably less crowded than the main Grande Pyramide entrance.
Toulouse, Gers & Vallée du Tarn
The elegant, tiered bell tower of Beaumont's main church, dating to the 14th century, was closely modelled on Toulouse's Couvent des Jacobins.
La Rochelle
The gateway to the old city, Tour de la Grosse Horloge is a steadfast Gothic-style clock tower with a 12th-century base and 18th-century top.
Côte d'Azur
This lighthouse is off-limits to the public, but makes a convenient landmark as you walk around the southern tip of the Cap Ferrat peninsula.
Nancy
Forming part of the place Stanislas ensemble, the grand 18th-century Hôtel de Ville spreads across the entire southern flank of the square.
Cathédrale Notre-Dame-de-la-Treille
Lille
Construction on Lille's neoclassical cathedral began in 1854 but its western façade, built from white marble, wasn't completed until 1999.
Biarritz
The neo-Gothic Église Ste-Eugénie was built in 1864 for – who else? – Empress Eugénie, and sits on a prominent spot in the old port.
Gorges du Verdon
A fairytale castle in the village of Allemagne-en-Provence, an easy drive from Lac de Quinson. It's about 24km west of Moustiers St-Marie.
Yonne
The 12th-century cellar of Petit Pontigny (viewable from the exterior only) was once used by Pontigny's Cistercian monks to ferment wine.
Carcassonne
The main gateway to the Cité Médiévale, Porte Narbonnaise leads into the citadel’s interior.
The Dordogne
Ornate gardens and 15th-century moat and battlements surround this grandly furnished 16th-century château, 6km southwest of Montignac.
Yonne
Flanked by colourful half-timbered buildings, Auxerre's town hall forms the centrepiece of the medieval centre's most attractive square.
Toulouse
This 19th-century brick tower once pumped out fresh water, but since the 1970s it's been a venue for contemporary photography displays.
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