MORE PLACES IN FRANCE
In Aix-en-Provence—the city of Paul Cézanne, Victor Vasarely, and Émile Zola—nearly every golden facade or cafe has had a brush with creative genius. In keeping with such a high-art history, Aix...
Antibes has the largest port on the Mediterranean, attracting sailors and scallywags of all varieties from around the world. A strange island of English-speaking visitors and residents, Antibes has...
One of the most relaxed and beautiful beach towns on the Côte d’Argent (Silver Coast), the thin strip of sand that runs along 200km of France’s southern Atlantic seaboard, Arcachon was created a mere...
Combine ancient Rome with French culture and a psychotic Dutch artist, and you get the eccentric historical cocktail that is Arles. Every street in this town seems to end in a Roman ruin, a cafe that...
Avignon is most famous (and rightfully so) as the historical home base for seven rebellious Popes who left Rome during the Babylonian Captivity. Those 39 years made Avignon a center for religion and...
Bayeux (bah-yuh; pop. 28,000) may be most famous for its 900-year-old tapestry narrating William the Conqueror’s victory over England, but the lively city offers more than historical needlework....
The resort town of Biarritz is synonymous with glitz—and not just
because they sort of rhyme. Once a minor whaling village, Biarritz became an aristocratic
playground in the mid-19th century. Its...
The opposite of blah, Blois (blwah; pop. 51,000) is the hidden gem of the Loire Valley, and the perfect excuse for a few days of exploration and medieval merry-making. Indulge your inner Disney...
Bordeaux may well be the wine capital of the world. College students and hipsters hang out at pl. de la Victoire in the student quarter, children splash in the waters of the Miroir d’Eau, and young...
At the end of WWII, three-quarters of Caen (KAI-ehn; pop.
200,000) had been destroyed and two-thirds of its citizens were left homeless. The city of
William the Conqueror has since been skillfully...
Cagnes sur Mer is the halfway point between Nice and Cannes, and it provides access to all the provincial towns and medieval villages in between. It also features a medieval village of its own and...
This star-studded, glitzy city on the water definitely has its pricey
side, especially during the film festival. If you plan your trip carefully, though, Cannes
is probably one of the cheapest places...
This small fishing village is one of Provence’s best kept secrets, at
least from Americans. European tourists swarm the petit train, the quais, and the beaches
to the West. However packed the port...
Were it not for a holy scrap of fabric, Chartres might still be a sleepy hamlet. But the cloth that the Virgin Mary supposedly wore when she gave birth to Jesus somehow ended up here, making Chartres...
In 1943, German forces occupying France fortified their defenses with the“Atlantic Wall”—a series of bunkers, and batteries all along France’s northern coasts. The Allies learned the difficulty of...
If your French hookup in Nice kind of smelled, you’d better thank Grasse. The perfume capital of France, Grasse is so famous for its fragrances that regional kings used to maneuver and fight for...
A popular safe haven for hard-drinking students and grungy granola freaks, this college town hosts a crushing amount of diversity. Grenoble’s suburbs are home to the city’s immigrants; the old city...
Ever wonder what it would be like to be stranded on a desert island? The Îles des Lérins are about as close as you’ll want to get (and you probably won’t want to stay long). A 15-20min. boat ride...
Whenever Cannes out prices the Riviera’s Spring Break crowd (think
Film Festival), Juan-les-Pins subs in as the life of the party. In July and August, the
clubs stay open until breakfast—or lunch—and...
One stop away from Cassis, La Ciotat manages to escape the excess
tourists during the low season, and even the beginning of the summer. However, once summer
comes along, this sleepy fishing village...
Ultra-modern, ultra-friendly, and undeniably gourmet, Lyon (lee-ohn) is more relaxed than Paris, and can claim a few more centuries of history. Its location at the confluence of the Rhône and Saône...
We could call Marseille a “true immigrant city” with a “vibrant local culture,” but we prefer to think of it as the Tijuana of France. A Tower of Babel, produced by the train-with-cut-brakes that is...
Often called the Secret Riviera, Menton offers the chance to bask in
Cote d’Azur sunshine and wander through quaint alleyways without the gouging prices and
snobby club scene thats pervades the...
Rising out of a vast expanse of sand at low tide and water at high tide, the island of Mont Saint Michel immediately elicits images of medieval grandeur and timeless majesty, replete with monks,...
It’s hard to find locals who were born in Montpellier. A college town and cultural center, Languedoc-Rousillon’s capital seduces visitors and then compels them to stay. Reputed to be the most light-...
Nice has been on the backpacker must-see list since the youth of the world discovered its beaches and cheap wine. Combining a wealthy reputation with an affordable underbelly, Nice neatly condenses...
Orange may exude an attractive small town vibe, but that charm only lasts until about 4pm; by that point, you will have circled through its worthwhile sights about 8 times. All the same, Orange is...
In 1492, Joan of Arc, appropriately known as the Maid of Orléans, marched armies down this town’s cobbled streets to liberate it from a brutal seven-month English siege, rejuvenating French forces...
Paris leaves an impression on everyone, from students perfecting their langue française to tourists who wonder why the French don’t pronounce half the consonants in each word. This city has been home...
Quirky, colorful, and cool, Rennes (pop. 213,000) has the cosmopolitan attitude of Paris. but an independent Breton spirit. The result: a charming, unpretentious city where the culture is lively, the...
Rouen’s spectacular medieval architecture has survived centuries of storms, cold winters, and even a tornado in 1999. These days, an influx of crass modernization encroaches on the city’s historical...
Located 35km northeast of Bordeaux, the famed viticulturists of St-Émilion have been refining their technique since Roman times—and it shows. Local winemakers nourish over 5400 acres, gently crushing...
St-Raphaël has all of the beaches, bikinis, and ensuing debauchery of its more popular neighbors, but at budget prices—by Riviera standards, anyway; the town’s still not the rock-bottom deal you’re...
St-Tropez is the excess capital of the world. You’d be stunned at the prices, if you weren’t distracted by the beautiful yachts and beautiful people. Independent wealth thrives here, as evidenced by...
Strasbourg (strahss-boorg; pop. 270,000) suffers from a confusing history. Much like the beloved toy of a pair of siblings, Alsace went back and forth between France and Germany throughout history as...
Known as la Ville Rose (“the pink city”), zany Toulouse is the place to go when all French cities begin to look alike. During the school year, 110,000 students fill the cafes and brasseries that line...
Tours (TOOR; pop. 142,000) is the liveliest of all the Loire cities. It may not have a grand château, but it’s certainly proud of its bustling nightlife. Tours lacks a local accent, so it’s a great...
A mid-sized medieval village in the hills above Cagnes sur Mer, this
peaceful haven is most famous for the healing properties of its drinking water; laugh all
you want, but its powers were”proven”...
Less than a 30min. train ride (or a 15min. death commute by scooter) from the center of Paris is a town famous for a single house. “House” might be an understatement. Your history books will tell you...
This small fishing village 10min. from Gare Nice is a haven for
those trying to escape the noise and fellow backpackers of Nice. The much appreciated
sandy beach (in a region generally devoid of sand...