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Planning a trip to France? Whether you're a gourmand or a history buff, a sun seeker or a shopper, everything in this country seems to derive from or end up in Paris. It's the starting point for most trips, and with its world-class museums, ever-renewing neighborhoods, and cavalcade of classic and new restaurants, it'd be easy to spend your whole trip there. However, the rest of France provides an equally staggering embarrassment of riches. Hop a train south to Provence where Roman ruins sit among medieval villages and pine-covered mountains, and the Côte d'Azur, where celebs and socialites pack sunny beaches and swanky nightclubs.
Art lovers will want to reserve significant time for classics like the Louvre, Musée Rodin, and Musée d'Orsay in Paris, and then head to the many small Impressionist museums in Provence and along the coast. For architectural grandeur, explore the Gothic cathedrals in Reims, the Champagne region, and Normandy, as well as Paris's Notre-Dame, Sainte-Chapelle, and Saint-Eustache. Or head to the Loire Valley to tour (or spend the night in) the region's grand châteaux. And if you'd rather a feast for your stomach than your eyes, head to Lyon, the center of France's butter-and-cream culinary culture, or to Bordeaux, a revitalized city at the center of one of the world's most prestigious wine-growing regions. Any short visit will tend to excess, mais c'est la vie.
The archetypal Provençal hilltop town, St. Paul de Vence calls itself "the most beautiful village in the world." This is debatable—there's plenty of...more
see the Côte d'Azur guideAlternatives to skiing include snowshoeing excursions organized by the Bureau des Guides and Evolution 2. If you haven't tried dog-sleighing then this is a...more
see the Megève guideBoth the state-funded Ecole du Ski Francais and the independent Ecole de Ski & Snowboard are recommended. Ecole Freeride and Summits are vibrant...more
see the Megève guideWhile it's possible to learn to ski in Chamonix—Le Tour at the head of the valley, has beginner slopes and there are other isolated novice lifts and...more
see the Chamonix guideThis enormous family-friendly ski area covers some 276 miles of prepared trails that stretch east across rolling mountainside to the ancient spa town of St....more
see the Megève guideThe concerts of the Semaines Musicales du Mont-Blanc fill the Grande Salle of the Majestic with jazz and classical favorites from mid-July to August. Built in...more
see the Chamonix guideExplore the crooked, narrow streets of the Quartier du Panier north of the Vieux Port, the oldest part of the city where the original Greek settlers built their...more
see the Marseille guideDuring the late 19th and 20th centuries, such celebrated painters as Cézanne, Braque, Derain, and Renoir were attracted to a small working-class port in...more
see the Marseille guideThis 800-year-old bridge is an impressive structure even though less than a fifth of it still stands: Eighteen of its original 22 arches have collapsed or been...more
see the Avignon guideA UNESCO World Heritage site, this is one tourist attraction that's well worth the drive and crowds. The spectacular Roman-built bridge is worthy of a Romantic...more
see the Provence guide
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