Attraction
Musée du Louvre
The world-famous former royal palace on the Right Bank, home to the Mona Lisa, the Venus de Milo and thousands of works spanning antiquity to the…
France is one of the most visited countries in the world, with a mix of cities, countryside, coast and mountains. Paris is the usual starting point, with its museums, landmarks and food, and it has fast rail links to the rest of the country. Beyond the capital, visitors head to the châteaux of the Loire Valley, the vineyards of Bordeaux and Burgundy, and the beaches and towns of the Côte d'Azur, including Nice. Lyon is known for its food, Provence for its markets and villages, and the Alps for skiing and summer hiking. Normandy draws visitors to Mont-Saint-Michel and the D-Day beaches. High-speed TGV trains make it practical to combine several regions in one trip.
Attraction
The world-famous former royal palace on the Right Bank, home to the Mona Lisa, the Venus de Milo and thousands of works spanning antiquity to the…
Attraction
Nice's seafront avenue curves for almost seven kilometres around the Baie des Anges, lined with palms, pebble beaches and the city's famous blue chairs.
Attraction
A wooded hilltop park between the old town and the port, with free entry, an artificial waterfall and the classic view over the Baie des Anges.
Attraction
Gustave Eiffel's wrought-iron tower on the Champ de Mars, with lifts and stairs to two viewing floors and a summit 276 metres above the city.
Attraction
A former Beaux-Arts railway station on the Left Bank holding the world's best-known collection of Impressionist and Post-Impressionist art.
Attraction
A seventeenth-century Genoese villa in the Cimiez olive grove holding nearly 600 works donated by Henri Matisse and his heirs, from early paintings to late cut-outs.
Café
A Saint-Germain café dating from around 1887, famed as a haunt of Apollinaire, Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir and home of the Prix de Flore.
Café
A family ice-cream maker founded in 1966, serving more than 90 flavours on Place Rossetti, including Niçois oddities such as tomato-basil and Swiss chard tart.
Café
A historic café facing the church of Saint-Germain-des-Prés since 1884, open from breakfast until late and home to its own literary prize.
Café
A confectioner and chocolatier founded in 1820 opposite the Opéra, famous for its candied fruit and its rococo-style shop, run by the Dolfi family.
Café
A Belle Époque tearoom opposite the Tuileries, founded in 1903 and best known for its thick L'Africain hot chocolate and Mont-Blanc pastry.
Café
A bright café-bistro in the port district serving farm-produce brunches, a lunch menu and evening sharing plates with natural wines.
Hotel
The pink-domed palace of the Promenade des Anglais, a five-star hotel with 130 rooms and suites, a Michelin-starred restaurant and a celebrated art collection.
Hotel
César Ritz's legendary 1898 hotel on Place Vendôme, with the Ritz Club pool and spa, Bar Vendôme and the École Ritz Escoffier cookery school.
Hotel
A five-star hotel behind a Belle Epoque facade dating from 1848, fully renovated, with a rooftop terrace, Anantara spa and around 230 rooms near the Jardin…
Hotel
A Dorchester Collection hotel facing the Tuileries since 1815, home to Restaurant le Meurice Alain Ducasse, Bar 228 and Cédric Grolet's pastry shop.
Hotel
A five-star hotel behind the Art Deco facade of a 1929 landmark on the Promenade des Anglais, with a heated pool, spa and sea-facing rooms.
Hotel
An Oetker Hotels palace on Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré since 1925, with Epicure, a courtyard garden and a top-floor swimming pool.
Bar
A historic American-style bar near the Opéra, open since 1911 and long said to be the birthplace of the Bloody Mary and the French 75.
Bar
A hidden cocktail bar in the port area styled on 1920s Italy and Prohibition, with leather armchairs, velvet banquettes and a seasonal menu of creative cocktails.
Bar
A Haut-Marais taqueria with a cocktail bar behind it specialising in agave spirits, run by the Quixotic Projects group.
Bar
A rooftop bar and evening lounge at the top of the Aston La Scala hotel, with panoramic views over the Promenade du Paillon, the old town…
Bar
The original Perchoir rooftop bar, on the seventh floor of an industrial building in Ménilmontant, with views across to Sacré-Cœur.
Bar
A small live-music bar in the old town where jazz and other relaxed styles play late into the night, popular with locals and visitors alike.
Restaurant
A cavernous Belle Époque dining hall on the Grands Boulevards serving low-priced French classics non-stop, every day of the year.
Restaurant
The two-Michelin-star restaurant of brothers Gaël and Mickaël Tourteaux, pairing Niçois produce with spices and flavours gathered from other continents.
Restaurant
A busy kosher falafel counter on Rue des Rosiers in the Marais, known for pittas stuffed with falafel, fried aubergine and hummus.
Restaurant
The Michelin-starred dining room of the Hotel Negresco, where chef Virginie Basselot cooks light, produce-led French cuisine under 18th-century wood panelling.
Restaurant
A Marais crêperie serving Breton galettes made from organic buckwheat with Bordier butter, alongside sweet crêpes and farm ciders.
Restaurant
Chef Jan Hendrik van der Westhuizen's one-star dining room near the port, serving a single set menu of creative cooking rooted in South African flavours.
Thing to do
The long market square of Vieux Nice, where flower, fruit and vegetable stalls trade from Tuesday to Sunday and an antiques market takes over on Mondays.
Thing to do
Self-guided or guided visits of Charles Garnier's opulent 1875 opera house, including the grand staircase, the Grand Foyer and Chagall's auditorium ceiling.
Thing to do
The red-windmilled cabaret at the foot of Montmartre, open since 1889 and staging its Féerie revue with dinner-and-show options.
Thing to do
A 57-hectare forest park on the hill between Nice and Villefranche, with 11 kilometres of trails and wide views along the Riviera coast.
Thing to do
Paris's oldest covered market, founded in 1628 in the Haut-Marais, where produce stalls sit alongside counters serving food from around the world.
Thing to do
Nice's 1885 opera house at the edge of the old town, home to the city's philharmonic orchestra, ballet and chorus, with an Italian-style auditorium of over…
Tour operator
The classic Seine cruise company, sailing from Port de la Conférence by the Pont de l'Alma with guided sightseeing, brunch, lunch and dinner cruises.
Tour operator
An open-top hop-on hop-off bus with 12 stops around Nice and Villefranche-sur-Mer, recorded commentary in nine languages and departures all year.
Tour operator
An electric tourist train run by France Voguette, offering 45 to 50-minute guided loops of the city centre or up to Castle Hill from the Jardin…
Tour operator
One-hour guided Seine cruises leaving from Square du Vert-Galant at the western tip of the Île de la Cité, with live commentary.
Tour operator
A tour company near the Promenade des Anglais offering Segway rides, guided walking and food tours of the old town, and scavenger hunts for groups.
Tour operator
An English-language walking tour company founded in 1994 by Peter and Oriel Caine, offering neighbourhood, themed and museum walks.
High-speed TGV trains link Paris with most major cities, and regional trains serve smaller towns. A car is useful for rural areas such as Provence, the Dordogne and the Loire Valley.
Late spring and early autumn offer mild weather across most of the country. Summer suits the coast, while winter is the season for skiing in the Alps and Pyrenees.
Popular choices include Nice and the Côte d'Azur, Lyon, Bordeaux, Provence, the Loire Valley, Normandy and the French Alps.