1176 Best Sights in France

Look for the 17th-century biblical inscriptions carved in Latin in the stone under the windows.

The village of Cluny was built to serve the abbey's more practical needs, and several fine Romanesque houses around Rue d'Avril and Rue de la République—including the so-called Hôtel des Monnaies—are prime examples of the period's different architectural styles.

Hidden away in a small antiques district, not far from the Opéra Garnier, is Paris's central auction house, said to be the oldest in the world. You name it, Drouot sells it: vintage clothes, haute-couture gowns, tchotchkes, ornate Chinese lacquered boxes, rare books, art, rugs and tapestries, mid-century modern furniture, old master drawings, wine, and much more. Anyone can attend the sales and viewings, which draw a mix of art dealers, ladies who lunch, and art amateurs hoping to discover an unknown masterpiece. Check the website to see what's on the block or if you're pressed for time, bid online. Don't miss the small galleries and antiques dealers in the Quartier Drouot, a warren of small streets around the auction house, notably on Rues Rossini and de la Grange-Batelière.

If you have deep pockets (the nightly rate for staying here regularly reaches up to €2,300), you can spend the night in the former palace built for the Empress Eugénie in 1850. If not, you can still admire from a distance the opulent crimson facade and white colonnades of Biarritz's top landmark overlooking the Plage du Miramar and set within manicured lawns. You can dine at one its three fine restaurants, sip a cocktail at the Bar Napoléon, or treat yourself to a day at the Spa Impérial with its huge pool, sauna, hammam, and solarium (a one-day pass costs €90).

This former coaching inn is a handsome example of 16th-century architecture.

Officially the Hôtel Beringuier Maynier, this building was dubbed the Vieux Raisin (Old Grape) after the early name of the street and even earlier inn. Built in the 15th and 16th centuries, the mansion has an octagonal tower, male and female figures on the facade, and allegorical sculptures of the three stages of life—infancy, maturity, and old age—over the windows to the left.

This dynamic museum is set in Tours's most extravagant example of early Renaissance domestic architecture and one of its most extensively restored historic monuments; the neighborhood was almost completely destroyed by German bombs in 1944—hence the decidedly less romantic architecture all around it. The beautiful creamy white building (worth seeing for the architecture alone) now hosts a changing program of contemporary art exhibitions featuring artists from around the world.

This ornately decorated mansion houses the Institut d'Études Françaises (Institute of French Studies), where foreign students take French classes. During the Festival d'Aix in July, the hotel's courtyard is used for a series of classical concerts.

Across the Bassin de la Préfecture, an arm of the Seine, is this historic hospital, fronted by superb 18th-century wrought-iron gates topped with the blue-and-gold fleurs-de-lis emblems of the French monarchy. The west wing houses La Cité de Vitrail, a stained-glass interpretation center with a permanent collection of 50 stained-glass windows, a library, and a workshop. On the ground floor is the entrance to the Apothicairerie de l'Hôtel-Dieu, a former medical laboratory. Inside, time has been suspended: floral-painted boxes and ceramic jars containing medicinal plants line the antique shelves.

Note that boats make round trips several times a day to the Calanques de Cassis from Marseille's Quai de la Fraternité (Quai des Belges). This company offers a 3½-hour round trip.

Five hundred yards offshore is the Île du Grand Bé, a small island housing the somber military tomb of the great Romantic writer Viscount René de Chateaubriand, who was born in St-Malo. The islet can be reached by a causeway at low tide only.

Smaller and wilder than Ste-Marguerite, Île St-Honorat is home to an active monastery and the ruins of its 11th-century predecessor. The monks are more famous in the region for their nonreligious activity: manufacturing and selling a rather strong liqueur called Lérina. Retreats at the abbey's hôtellerie require a two-night minimum stay, and you must bring your own sheets and towels and obey the rule of silence (even during mealtime). There is no cost, but a donation of €45–€55 per night per person is welcome. There is Wi-Fi but only in a restricted area.  There are no garbage cans on Île St-Honorat, so be prepared to take any trash you generate back with you to Cannes.

The monumental buildings around Avenue Foch and Rue Gambetta were built as a showcase for Germany’s might following its annexation of Metz in the late 19th century. The area forms an architectural encyclopedia of German town-planning, with prime examples of Romanesque Revival, Art Deco, and Jungendstil. The centerpiece is the train station, built using reinforced concrete (a cutting-edge technique at the time) in a style reminiscent of the great castles of the Rhine, much like the central post office at 9 rue Gambetta.

Worth a visit for the beauty and balance of its architecture alone, this fine old museum contains a rich collection of antiquities and classically inspired works. Acquisitions include neoclassical and Romantic pieces and are almost entirely French, including works by Manet, Daumier, and David. There's also a good modern section, with pieces by Bonnard, Dufy, and Camille Claudel (note Claudel's piece depicting her brother Paul, who incarcerated her in an insane asylum when her relationship with Rodin caused too much scandalous talk). The main building itself is a Palladian-style jewel in pale Gard stone dating from the 1740s, and the garden is so lovely that it may distract you from the art.

The Institut de France is one of the country's most revered cultural institutions, and its golden dome is one of the Rive Gauche's most impressive landmarks. The site was once punctuated by the Tour de Nesle (a "tour" is a tower): forming part of Philippe-Auguste's medieval fortification wall, the tower had many royal occupants, including Henry V of England. Then, in 1661, wealthy Cardinal Mazarin willed 2 million French livres (pounds) for the construction of a college here. It's also home to the Académie Française, the protectors of the French language. The edicts issued by this esoteric group of 40 perpétuel (lifelong) members are happily ignored by the French public. The interior is off-limits to visitors.

This eye-catching metal-and-glass tower by architect Jean Nouvel cleverly uses metal diaphragms in the shape of square Arabic-style screens to work like a camera lens, opening and closing to control the flow of sunlight. The vast cultural center's layout is a reinterpretation of the traditional enclosed Arab courtyard. Inside, there are various spaces, among them a museum that explores the culture and religion of the 22 Arab League member nations. With the addition of elements from the Louvre's holdings and private donors, the museum's impressive collection includes four floors of Islamic art, artifacts, ceramics, and textiles. There is also a performance space, a sound-and-image center, a library, and a bookstore. Temporary exhibitions usually have information and an audioguide in English. Glass elevators whisk you to the ninth floor, where you can sip mint tea in the rooftop restaurant, Dar Mima—Ziryab, while feasting on one of the best views in Paris (reservations are essential).

On the site where the Lumière brothers, Auguste and Louis, invented cinematography in their family home, this museum has daily showings of early film classics and contemporary movies as well as a permanent exhibit about the Lumières.

The only Swedish cultural center outside Sweden, this is a favorite Marais hangout for those in the know, not only for its picturesque location, tucked away in a beautiful 18th-century mansion, but also its program of Swedish contemporary art, open-air cinema, and concerts. Its best-kept secret is the Café FICA, where you can feast on healthy, affordably priced Swedish sandwiches, salads, and snacks indoors or in the charming cobbled French garden.

Along Promenade des Anglais, this luxurious garden stands over the delta of the River Paillon, underground since 1882. Every kind of flower and palm tree grows here, thrown into exotic relief by night illumination. Home base for many city festivals with its Théâtre de Verdure, the garden is the starting point for Nice's Promenade du Paillon.

Inside this garden are the excavated ruins of two churches that succeeded one another. The foundations of the churches were unearthed during a time when apartment buildings—constructed here after churches had been destroyed during the Revolution—were being demolished. One arch forms part of the ornamentation in the garden.

Built above the tracks of Gare Montparnasse, this park nestled among tall modern buildings is named for its assortment of trees and plants typically found in coastal regions near the Atlantic Ocean. In the center of the park, what looks like a quirky piece of metallic sculpture is actually a meteorological center, with a battery of flickering lights reflecting temperature, wind speed, and monthly rainfall. It's not really worth a detour, but it's a good green space if you're already nearby.

Found behind a wall and through a nondescript entrance on the Rue de Babylone, this former convent kitchen garden, founded in 1625, takes its name from a young nun who’s said to have seen apparitions of the Virgin Mary. Among the prettiest of Paris’s hidden parks and gardens, you'll feel like you're in another time sitting among its orchard, vines, arbors, flowerbeds, and tended paths. In nice weather, it’s a favorite refuge for local families (there’s a small playground for kids), friends, and lovers to repose on the lawn, read on a bench, or peacefully stroll the garden’s many nooks, so close and yet so far from the surrounding buzz of this fashionable shopping area.

One of several small, leafy parks in Lyon, this one is a peaceful place to take a break while admiring the splendid vistas of the river and Fourvière Hill.

The sloping garden behind the cathedral, the Jardin des Enfeus, contains a strange, conical tower known as the Lanterne des Morts (Lantern of the Dead), which was occasionally used as a funeral chapel.

Adjoining the cathedral are a 14th-century cloister and the Jardin des Évêques, a terraced garden descending to the banks of the Orb. The views from here, which take in Béziers's five bridges, are magnificent.

Boulevard Henri IV runs north from the Promenade du Peyrou to France's oldest botanical garden, which was planted on order of Henri IV in 1593. An exceptional range of plants, flowers, and trees grows here.

In these luxurious botanical gardens you'll find remnants of the once-huge Amphithéâtre des Trois Gaules (Three Gauls Amphitheater), built in AD 19.

The Pharo, another larger-than-life edifice built to Napoléon III's epic tastes, was a gift to his wife, Eugénie. It's a conference center now, but its green park has become a magnet for city strollers who want to take in panoramic views of the ports and fortifications.

This lovely compact garden on a 12th-century site re-creates a typical botanical garden with plants commonly used in medieval medicines. It's well worth the steep 100-step climb up the King's tower for the eye-popping views of the town. Afterward, you'll be served a refreshing tisane made from garden herbs. There's also a fascinating 19th-century jail and several art galleries showing works by local artists.

To fully experience the Riviera's heady hothouse exoticism, visit this glorious garden, established by botanist Gustave Thuret in 1856 as a testing ground for subtropical plants and trees. Thuret was responsible for introducing the palm tree, which forever changed the look of the French Riviera. On his death, the property was left to the Ministry of Agriculture, which continues to dabble in the introduction of exotic species. Tours from 90 minutes up to three hours can be reserved in advance.