1176 Best Sights in France

Most of Île de la Cité's medieval structures fell victim to wunderkind urban planner Baron Haussmann's ambitious rebuilding program of the 1860s. Among the rare survivors are the jewel-like Sainte-Chapelle, a vision of shimmering stained glass, and the Conciergerie, the cavernous former prison where Marie-Antoinette and other victims of the French Revolution spent their final days.

Constructed by Philip IV in the late 13th and early 14th centuries, the Conciergerie—which takes its name from the building's concierge or keeper—was part of the original palace of the kings of France before the royals moved into the Louvre around 1364. In 1391, it became a prison. During the French Revolution, Marie-Antoinette languished 76 days here awaiting her date with the guillotine. There is a re-creation of the doomed queen's sad little cell—plus others that are far smaller—complete with wax figures behind bars. In the chapel, stained glass, commissioned after the queen's death by her daughter, is emblazoned with the initials M.A. Outside you can see the small courtyard where women prisoners took meals and washed their clothes in the fountain (men enjoyed no similar respite). Well-done temporary exhibitions on the ground floor aim to please kids and adults alike; themes have included enchanted forests and Gothic castles. There are free guided tours (in French only) most days at 11 and 3. Pick up a free English guide at reception and ask for a "Histopad" (also free), an "augmented reality" tablet that allows you to go back in time and view 30 reconstructions.

Handmade lace is a specialty of Bayeux. The best place to learn about it—and buy some to take home—is the Conservatoire de la Dentelle near the cathedral, which offers occasional instructional workshops in addition to its retail collection.

In a striking modern edifice designed by architect Kengo Kuma in the Forum Culturel (which includes the Pavillon Noir dance center), the Darius Milhaud Music Conservatory celebrates the music of Marseille's native composer, who spent several years of his childhood in Aix and returned here to die. Milhaud (1892–1974), a member of the group of French composers known as Les Six, created fine-boned, transparent works influenced by jazz and Hebrew chant. Aix has yet to make a museum of his memorabilia, but you can visit during its eclectic series of student performances, jazz and classical concerts, and dance recitals.

In 1985, diver Henri Cosquer discovered a mostly submerged cave with chambers containing more than 500 evocative images of bison, horses, deer, ibex, aurochs, seals, jellyfish, and human hands. On this simulated visit at Marseille's Villa Mediterranée, groups of six, equipped with headsets, are taken by cable car though a near-perfect replica of the cave to learn the story of these mysterious drawings, the original artists, and their relationship to the animals they depicted some 33,000 years ago.

It has a reputation as one of the most luxurious ski resorts in the French Alps, and Courchevel doesn't do much to dispel that notion. Ski shops glitter like designer boutiques, and ski valets place your skis and poles outside on the snow so you don't have to carry them. But it turns out that Courchevel is also one of the area's most inviting towns. None of the locals seem stiff or snooty. The sommelier in the restaurant written up in all the food magazines is happy to give you a tour of the wine cellar, even when the dining room is crowded. Leave behind your voltage converter, and the front desk staff might just give you one for free.

And the skiing itself is amazing, with a huge variety of slopes that cater to skiers of every skill level. It's heaven for intermediate skiers, and beginners will find plenty to keep them occupied (including a run that has a great view of Courchevel's postage-stamp airport). The lifts are unusually speedy, keeping lines to a minimum. What's more, the scenery just doesn't get better than this in the French Alps.

This center of bohemian flânerie (hanging out) is a lovely place to relax by the fountain, in the shade of plane trees, or under a café umbrella. Its low-key and painterly tableau is framed by graceful 18th-century buildings, and the warren of streets surrounding it is full of young fashion designers, vintage shops, and hip boutiques.

To visit old Antibes, stroll the Cours Masséna, where every day from 6 am to 1 pm (except Monday September–May) a sheltered Provençal market tempts you with lemons, olives, and hand-stuffed sausages. Here both vendors and shoppers take breaks in the shoebox cafés flanking one side. Painters, sculptors, and other artists take over at 3 pm every day (except Monday mid-June–September and Friday, Saturday, and Sunday October–mid-June). From Port Vauban, you'll find the cours by passing through an arched gateway beneath the ramparts and following Rue Aubernon to the old Portail de l'Orme, built of quarried Roman stone and enlarged in the Middle Ages.

Shaded by a double row of tall plane trees, the Cours Mirabeau is one of the most beautiful avenues anywhere, designed so its width and length would be in perfect proportion with the height of the dignified 18th-century hôtels particuliers lining it. You can view this lovely assemblage from one of the dozen or so cafés that spill onto the pavement.

A Gallo-Roman underground gallery and crypt, now a semi-subterranean venue for municipal expositions, was initially constructed around AD 200 beneath the forum of Reims's predecessor, the Roman town of Durocortorum.

Entering through the elegant 17th-century City Hall, you can gain access to these ancient underground passages dating from 30–20 BC. The horseshoe of vaults and pillars buttressed the ancient forum from belowground. Used as a bomb shelter in World War II, the galleries still have a rather ominous atmosphere. Yet openings let in natural daylight and artworks of considerable merit have been unearthed here, adding to the mystery of the site's original function.

One of several museums dedicated to the Surrealist master, this exhibition space's permanent collection includes about 300 works, mostly etchings and lithographs. Among the two-dozen sculptures are versions of Dalí's melting bronze clock and variations on the Venus de Milo. Since he was a multimedia pioneer ahead of his time, there are videos with Dalí's voice, and temporary exhibits have included the mustachioed man's foray into holograms. There's plenty of information in English, and audio guides (meant more for children) can be rented for €3.

Since 1895, this important local distiller has been producing not only lavender, but also essential oils of lavendin and other aromatic plants. Tours of its facility, offered May through August, cover cultivating lavender and the distillation process. You can stock up on lavender, organic essential oils, floral waters, soaps, sachets, and plant-based cosmetics in the on-site shop.

This vineyard has a tasting cave, where you can sample some of the wines, which include mostly whites but also reds from grapes such as grenache.

Winemakers Gilles and Nathalie Tamagnan offer a warm welcome and tastings of their many white, red, and rosé Touraine wines, including a delicious sparkler and the superb Sine Sulfuris made with no added sulfites. Cyclists are welcome, as the domaine is set right on the Route des Châteaux, between Amboise and Chaumon-sur-Loire.

This 100-acre winery, a highly regarded domaine producing wine since 1805, offers free tastings year-round without reservation. It also runs the Village Cellar in town from June through September. 

In the countryside around 43 miles to the north of Porto Vecchio, Jean Claude Venturini and his sons developed this distillery to turn the main fruits of the island into brandy and liqueur from fruits such as myrtle, lemons, chestnuts, pear, and raspberry.

Once prolific here, many Camargue vineyards succumbed to the saline soils. Around Aigues-Morte, home of the Sable de Camargue appellation, you can taste gris-de-gris and granache-gris rosé wines made from red grapes pressed to keep a faint blush without maceration of the skins. Domaine Terres de Sable’s vineyards might date from 1800, but the estate has a modern cellar where you can taste (€15) its all-organic wines. Make reservations online.

The Middle Ages, the Renaissance, and the 17th century are on display at the 1,000-year-old-and-counting residence of the Dukes of Uzès (when the blue flag is flying you know the duke is at home). Tours (in French) from the cellars to the Bermonde tower narrate the history of the castle (which is also basically the history of France), including one of its most colorful residents, Anne de Mortemart, wife of the 12th duke. She was the first woman in France to earn a driver's license and also the first to get a speeding ticket.

The tallest sand dune in Europe, the vast Dune du Pilat stretches 3 km (2 miles) and rises to create a 340-foot ridge of golden sand. From its northern beginnings, a near-unbroken sweep of spectacular, surf-pounded beaches and dunes stretches southward from Arcachon for some 140 km (90 miles) toward Biarritz.

If you're nuts about nuts, Sarlat is your town—the Périgord is the second-biggest producer of walnuts in France, and those from the Sarladais region are prized. The nuts are sold in the markets in October and November and walnut wood (often preferred here to oak) is used to make beautiful furniture. Visit the Eco-Musée de la Noix, just south of Sarlat in Castelnaud-la-Chapelle, to learn more.

Occupying three large mansions near the Seine, the national fine arts school—today the breeding ground for painters, sculptors, and architects—was once the site of a convent founded in 1608 by Marguerite de Valois, the first wife of Henri IV. After the Revolution the convent was turned into a museum for works of art salvaged from buildings attacked by the rampaging French mobs. In 1816 the museum was turned into a school. Today its peaceful courtyards host contemporary installations and exhibits. Note that public access to the school is limited, except during temporary exhibitions.

A marvel of the Flamboyant Gothic style, the Église de Brou is no longer in religious use. The church was built between 1513 and 1532 by Margaret of Austria in memory of her husband, Philibert le Beau, duke of Savoy, and their finely sculpted tombs highlight the rich interior. Outside, a massive restoration of the roof has brought it back to its 16th-century state, with the same gorgeous, multicolor, intricate patterns found throughout Burgundy. The museum in the nearby cloister stands out for its paintings: 16th- and 17th-century Flemish and Dutch artists keep company with 17th- and 18th-century French and Italian masters, 19th-century artists of the Lyon School, Gustave Doré, and contemporary local painters.

This sanctuary served as the region's cathedral until the bishopric was transferred to Grasse in 1244. The church's 18th-century facade, a marvelous Latin mix of classical symmetry and fantasy, has been restored in stunning shades of ocher and cream. Its stout medieval watchtower was built in the 11th century with stones "mined" from Roman structures. Inside is a Baroque altarpiece painted by the Niçois artist Louis Bréa in 1515.

The 16th-century Church of the Immaculate Conception occupies a cobblestone square. Step inside the Baroque portal to admire the church's ornate 18th-century interior, requiring a bright day to see much detail as interior lighting is quite dim. The walls are covered with wood carvings, gold, marble, and velvet fabric. Check out the altar's interpretation of the Assumption by Murillo, whose original version sits in Madrid's El Prado Museum.

Though the facade now bears 19th-century touches, this small 17th-century church still contains the center panel of the fine 15th-century Annunciation Triptych, attributed to the father of Jan Van Eyck, the greatest painter of the Early Netherlandish school. Some say the massive painting on the left side of the transept is a Rubens. The church is used regularly for classical concerts.

With its rows of uncompromising columns, this enormous neoclassical edifice in the center of Place de la Madeleine was consecrated as a church in 1842, nearly 78 years after construction began. Initially planned as a Baroque building, it was later razed and begun anew by an architect who had the Roman Pantheon in mind. Interrupted by the Revolution, the site was razed yet again when Napoléon decided to transform it into a Greek-inspired temple dedicated to the glory of his army. Those plans changed when the army was defeated and the emperor deposed. Other ideas for the building included making it into a train station, a market, and a library. Finally, Louis XVIII decided it should be a church, which it still is today. A recent cleaning has restored the sooty facade's original luminosity (notice the contrast with the building's nether half, still awaiting a cleaning). A continuous program of classical concerts (some of them free) are a joy to attend here under the soaring ceilings.

The heavily restored church, with its distinctive octagonal tower, was the place where the infamous 1209 massacre began. Some 7,000 townspeople, who had sought refuge from Simon de Montfort inside the church, were burned alive before he turned his attention to sacking the town. The event is known as le grand mazel (the great slaughter).

The Flemish-influenced Madonna of the Rosebush (1473), noted German artist Martin Schongauer's most celebrated painting, hangs in the Église des Dominicains. Stolen from St-Martin's in 1972 and later recovered, the work has almost certainly been reduced in size from its original state. It nevertheless still makes an enormous impact. The grace and intensity of the Virgin match that of the Christ Child, yet her slender fingers dent the child's soft flesh (and his fingers entwine her curls) with immediate intimacy. Schongauer's text for her crown is: Me carpes genito tuo o santissima virgo (Choose me also for your child, O holiest Virgin).

This mammoth, Romanesque fortress-church, built in the 9th century, is almost devoid of windows, and its tall, barren nave is cluttered with florid and sentimental ex-votos (tokens of blessings, prayers, and thanks) and primitive artworks depicting the famous trio of Marys. For €3, you can climb up to the terrace for a panoramic view of the Camargue (hours vary depending on the season).

If Nice's other chapels are jewel boxes, this is a barn. Broad, open, and ringing hollow after the intense concentration of sheer matter in the Miséricorde and Ste-Rita, it seems austere by comparison. That's only because the decoration is spread over a more expansive surface. If it's possible, this 17th-century Baroque chapel is even more theatrical and over-the-top than its peers. Angels throng in plaster and fresco, pillars spill over with extravagantly sculpted capitals, and from the pulpit (to the right, at the front) the crucifix is supported by a disembodied arm.