1175 Best Sights in France

A testimony to the taste of the Age of Reason, this elaborate formal garden was created on the site of a once-sacred Roman spring, which was channeled into pools and a canal. The shady haven of mature trees and graceful stonework makes for a lovely approach to the Temple de Diane and the Tour Magne.

The grounds of a Cistercian abbey—constructed in the late 11th century and rebuilt in the 17th century—contain a dry garden, a vegetable garden, and a spectacular rose garden with more than 500 varieties. Guided nature tours are offered, as are history tours that take in the church and might feature Gregorian chant. Open year-round, the on-site restaurant serves lunch and dinner Tuesday through Saturday and lunch on Sunday. A boutique sells gardening books and tools, as well as locally made fragrance and food items.

Five generations of love have gone into the design and upkeep of these exquisite family gardens, whose owners still inhabit a graceful manor on the property and are as likely to be seen pulling weeds as greeting guests. Interspersed with tall ancient trees and charming flower beds are fantastical topiary gardens masterfully hewn from boxwood, yew, and hornbeam bushes. Throughout the summer, these romantic gardens host a range of concerts and delightful activities for families. Open year-round, there’s something to be admired in every season, plus a charming café and gift shop.

Cézanne's father bought this lovely property 1 km (½ mile) west of the center of town in 1859 to celebrate his rise from hatmaker to banker. The budding artist lived at the estate, whose name translates as "the sheepfold," until 1899 and painted his first images of Mont Sainte-Victoire—foundations of 20th-century art—from the grounds. Today the salons are empty, but the estate is full of the artist's spirit, especially the Allée des Marronniers out front.  The site is closed for renovations until 2026. Check with the central tourist office before visiting, as access has traditionally been via guided tours arranged through the office.

This Napoléon III–era building at the north entrance of the Jardin des Tuileries began life in 1861 as a place to play jeu de paume (or "palm game"), a forerunner of tennis. It later served as a transfer point for art looted by the Germans during World War II. Rather than a permanent collection, today the ultramodern, white-walled building provides a space for temporary exhibits from up-and-comers as well as icons such as Diane Arbus, Richard Avedon, Cindy Sherman, and Robert Frank. In 2022, the museum launched the first annual Jeu de Paume festival, a celebration of multiple media that marries exhibits, screenings, concerts, and more. Book your ticket in advance online for €12 or purchase on site for €13.

At this famous village north of Marseille, Cézanne led an influx of artists eager to capture its cliff-top views over the harbor. Braque, Derain, and Renoir all put its red rooftops, rugged cliffs, and factory smokestacks on canvas. Pick up the English-language itinerary "L'Estaque and the Painters" from the Marseille tourist office, and hunt down the sites and views they immortalized. The town is a little seedy these days, but there are cafés and a few fish shops that make the most of the nearby Criée (fishermen's auction), which moved here from Marseille's Quai de Rive Neuve. A novel way to see Cézanne's famous scenery is to take a standard SNCF train trip from the Gare St-Charles to Martigues; it follows the L'Estaque waterfront and (apart from a few tunnels) offers magnificent views.

Although the town of Manosque, 9 km (15 miles) south of Forcalquier, is not itself a draw, its main employer is. This where you'll find the factory of L'Occitane, the renowned Provençal purveyor of botanical skin-care products. You can make reservations for a one-hour tour of the production facility or just visit the gardens and shop in the company shop.

Don your headphones and enter an immersive landscape of sound and light that, for 45 minutes, transforms the magnificent Théatre Antique d’Orange into a pageant of fantastical images, mythical characters, and deities from Roman myths.

At the intersection of Rue du Roi-de-Rome and Rue St-Charles, you can visit the confrérie, or religious brotherhood, of St-Jean Baptiste. On June 24, the patron saint is honored with a solemn mass conducted by the city's bishop and a Corsican music concert.

Starting at Quai St-Stéphane-Jay, this téléphérique (cable car) whisks you over the River Isère and up to the hilltop where there are splendid views and a good restaurant. Walk back down via the footpath through the Jardin Dauphinoise.

The immense charm of this château lies in its unusually harmonious layering of the centuries, from the 12th-century fortress to the elegant Renaissance château with later 19th-century embellishments, all dramatically reflected in a Gallo-Roman-era reservoir that surrounds the turreted castle. Visitors can explore the Renaissance château’s lovely interiors (the owners live in the medieval building), as well as visit the small exhibition on history and fishing (yes, fishing). Then you can take a rowboat out on the pond and, if so inclined, borrow a fishing rod to enjoy it yourself (catch and release only). The award-winning gardens (spectacular in late May and early June when the roses, iris, and poppies are in bloom) are well worth an hour or more of your time, and you're encouraged to enjoy refreshments in the vine-clad outdoor café or play a fun solve-the-mystery game for kids.

This wide avenue leading from the port, known affectionately as the "Can o' Beer" by American sailors, once figured in popular songs and operettas and was once crammed with cafés, theaters, bars, and tempting stores full of zoot suits and swell hats. It's noisy but dull today, yet you might still take pleasure in studying its grand 19th-century mansions.

If you wish to pay your respects to the Empress Eugénie, visit La Chapelle Impériale, which she had built in 1864 to venerate a figure of a Mexican Black Virgin from Guadalupe (and perhaps to expiate her sins for furthering her husband's tragic folly of putting Emperor Maximilian and Empress Carlotta on the \"throne\" of Mexico). The style is a charming hybrid of Roman-Byzantine and Hispano-Mauresque. Its open days and hours are changeable, so call ahead.

Via steel walkways, explore (by tour only) this half-acre archaeological crypt beneath Place Garibaldi. It contains the remains of a 14th-century tower and aqueduct that were razed by Louis XIV and only uncovered during excavations for Nice's tram system at the beginning of this century. The Centre du Patrimoine (Heritage Center) offers one-hour guided tours for up to 15 people, but you must reserve with them directly at 14 rue Jules-Gilly. The meeting point—Place Jacques Toja—is just off Place Garibaldi.  Wear "sensible shoes," as heels can't be worn in the crypt.

First conceived in 1958, this Modernist suburb just west of Paris was inspired by Le Corbusier's dream of tall buildings, pedestrian walkways, and sunken vehicle circulation. Built as an experiment to keep high-rises out of the historic downtown, the Parisian business hub has survived economic uncertainty to become the city's prime financial district. Today, 20,000 people live in the suburb, but 180,000 people work here and many more come to shop in its enormous mall. Arriving via métro Line 1, you'll get a view of the Seine, then emerge at a pedestrian plaza studded with some great public art, including César's giant thumb, Joan Miró's colorful figures, and one of Calder's great red "stabiles." The Grande Arche de La Défense dominates the area; it was designed as a controversial closure to the historic axis of Paris (an imaginary line that runs through the Arc de Triomphe, the Arc du Carrousel, and the Louvre Pyramide), but its top floor is no longer accessible.

One of Paris's younger and more exciting contemporary-art venues combines innovative exhibits with live musical performances and a multimedia space that features a library, movies, and free video games. Think of it as a smaller, more interactive Centre Pompidou. La Gaîté Lyrique occupies three floors of a 19th-century theater—remnants of which are visible in the café upstairs.

This awe-inspiring white mosque, built between 1922 and 1926, has tranquil arcades and a minaret decorated in the style of Moorish Spain. Enjoy sweet mint tea and an exotic pastry in the charming courtyard tea salon or tuck into some couscous in the restaurant. Prayer rooms are not open to sightseers, but there are inexpensive—and quite rustic—hammams, or Turkish steam baths, exclusively for women with scrubs and massages on offer (check  www.la-mosquee.com for restaurant/tea salon opening times and hammam prices).

Biarritz's urban beaches are understandably popular—particularly the fine, sandy strands of La Grande Plage and the neighboring Plage Miramar, both set amid craggy natural beauty. A walk along the seaside promenade gives a view of the foaming breakers that beat constantly upon the sands, giving the name Côte d'Argent (Silver Coast) to France’s Basque Coast. As you drink in that view, try to imagine the gilded days when the fashionable set used to stroll here in Worth gowns and picture hats. Today, form-fitting wet suits are more in vogue—the beach is a favorite with the local surfer crowd.

As you head north from Les Eyzies-de-Tayac toward Lascaux, stop off near the village of Tursac to discover the mysterious \"lost village\" of La Madeleine, found hidden in the Valley of Vézère at the foot of a ruined castle. The site was abandoned in the 1920s, but it has a picturesque, eye-catching cliff-face chapel that was constructed during the Middle Ages as well as an interesting history. Geologists and anthropologists will especially enjoy learning about the village's backstory, including the prehistoric settlement that was here. Download a guide about the site or take a guided tour—call ahead for English tours. There also are weekly summer workshops for children.

A block west of Rue Clémenceau, in a pretty house at the end of a typically Tropezien lane, the Butterfly Museum is an original place to spend an afternoon. The 35,000 specimens, displayed on scenery backdrops were a passion of late collector and painter Dany Lartigue, the son of the famous photographer Jacques-Henri.

If you need a culture fix, check out the world-class contemporary and modern art exhibitions held at the Malmaison, a 19th-century Belle Époque mansion reimagined as Cannes’ international art center. The rooftop offers spectacular views over the bay. 

To find Colmar at its most charming, wander along the calm canals that wind through La Petite Venise, an area of bright Alsatian houses with colorful shutters and window boxes that's south of the town center. Here, amid half-timber buildings bedecked with flowers and willow trees that weep into the eddies of the Lauch River, you have the sense of being in a tiny village.

If you've just arrived in Aix's center, this sculpture-fountain is a spectacular introduction to the town's rare mix of elegance and urban bustle. It's a towering mass of 19th-century attitude. That's Agriculture yearning toward Marseille, Art leaning toward Avignon, and Justice looking down on Cours Mirabeau. But don't study it too intently—you'll likely be sideswiped by a speeding Vespa.

The Stairway of the Holy Queen is one of Corsica's most spectacular roads—and one of the most difficult to navigate, especially in winter. About 20 km (12 miles) northwest of Corte, it traces the twisty path of the Golo River, which has carved its way through layers of red granite, forming dramatic gorges and waterfalls. Follow the road to the Col de Verghio (Verghio Pass) for superb views of Tafunatu, the legendary perforated mountain, and Monte Cinto. On the way up you'll pass through the Valdo Niello Forest, Corsica's most important woodlands, filled with pines and beeches. As you descend from the Verghio Pass through the Forêt d'Aïtone (Aitone Forest), note how well manicured it is—the pigs, goats, and sheep running rampant through the tall Laricio pines keep it this way. As you pass the village of Evisa, with its orange roofs, look across the impressive Gorges de Spelunca (Spelunca Gorge) to see the hill village of Ota. A small road on the right will take you across the gorge, where there's an ancient Genoese-built bridge.

Unless your French is good enough to justify joining a 90-minute group tour (€15, by online reservation only when on offer), you can't get into the city's most famous university without a student ID—but it's still fun to hang out with the young scholars. Although La Sorbonne remains the soul of the Quartier Latin, it is only one of several campuses that make up the public Université de Paris.

On the edge of town, follow the pink signs to La Verrerie de Biot, which has developed into something of a cult industry since its founding in the 1950s. Here you can observe the glassblowers at work; visit the extensive galleries of museum-quality glass art (which is of much better quality than the kitsch you find in the village shop windows); and start a collection of bubbled-glass goblets, cruets, or pitchers, just as Jackie Kennedy did when the rage first caught hold (she liked cobalt blue). Despite the extreme commercialism—there is a souvenir shop, an eco-museum, a boutique of home items, audio tours of the glassworks, a bar, and a restaurant—it's a one-of-a-kind artisanal industry, and the product is made before your eyes.

At the top of the Panier district lies this superb ensemble of 17th- and 18th-century architecture, which was originally designed as a hospice for the homeless by Marseillais artist-architects Pierre and Jean Puget and which now houses two museums. While visiting the complex, be sure to walk around the inner court to study the retreating perspective of triple arcades and to admire the baroque chapel with its novel, egg-peaked dome.

The larger of the two museums is the Musée d'Archéologie Méditerranéenne (Museum of Mediterranean Archaeology), with a sizable collection of pottery and statuary from classical Mediterranean civilization; unfortunately, descriptions of these items are rudimentary (e.g., "pot"). There's also an exhibit on the mysterious Celt-like Ligurians who first peopled the coast; alas, displays focus more on the digs than the finds. However, the Egyptian collection—the second-largest in France after the Louvre's—is evocative, with mummies, hieroglyphs, and sarcophagi exhibited in a tomblike setting.

Displays in the upstairs Musée d'Arts Africains, Océaniens, et Amérindiens (Museum of African, Oceanic, and American Indian Art) are theatrical: spectacular masks and sculptures are mounted along a black wall, lighted indirectly, and labeled across the aisle. The complex also has changing exhibitions that might focus on fine art, photography, filmmaking, or cultural anthropology, among other things.