Le Havre

Considering it was bombarded 146 times during World War II, you might think there’d be little left to see in Le Havre—France's second-largest port (after Marseille). Think again. The rebuilt city, with its uncompromising recourse to reinforced concrete and open spaces, looks like no other city in the country, thanks in part to its share of some of France's most spectacular 20th-century edifices. The rational planning and audacious architecture of Auguste Perret (1874–1954) have earned the city UNESCO World Heritage status. His unforgettable Église St-Joseph—half rocket ship, half church—is alone worth the trip.