1175 Best Sights in France

If you're bound for the Bois de Vincennes, pay a visit to the Palais de la Porte Dorée, which was built for the 1931 Colonial Exhibition and is one of the best examples of Art Deco architecture in Paris. The ornate facade features bas-relief sculptures representing France's erstwhile empire. Inside, the elaborate marble, ornate metalwork, frescoes, and original lighting are all beautifully maintained. Entry to the ground floor is free. On either end are furnished salons, one representing Asia, the other Africa; peek into the central room, called the Forum, where restored Africa-inspired mosaics line the walls. The upper floors are occupied by the Musée Nationale de l'Historie de l'Immigration, a fascinating modern museum tracing the history of immigration in France through photographs, artworks, and first-person accounts. The basement contains L'Aquarium Tropical, a favorite among generations of Parisians, who all visited as kids, with a pair of rare albino alligators, plus 300 species of exotic marine life. Be sure to check out the Palais's excellent temporary exhibitions.

Inaugurated in 1869, this grandiose hilltop palace was built to commemorate the completion of an 84-km (52-mile) aqueduct bringing the water of the Durance River to the open sea. The massive, classical-style building surrounds—with impressive symmetrical grace—a series of fountains and has a museum in each of its wings. In the Musée des Beaux-Arts (Fine Arts Museum) are 16th- and 17th-century paintings, including several by Rubens; French 19th-century paintings by such artists as Courbet, Ingres, and David; and fine marble sculptures and drawings by the Marseille architect Pierre Puget. There are also delightful sculptures by caricaturist Honoré Daumier. In addition to prehistoric and zoological artifacts, the Muséum d'Histoire Naturelle (Natural History Museum) has a large aquarium with fish from around the world.

The go-to address for some of the city's liveliest exhibitions, the Palais de Tokyo is a stripped-down venue that spotlights provocative, ambitious contemporary art. There is no permanent collection: instead, cutting-edge temporary shows are staged in a cavernous space reminiscent of a light-filled industrial loft. The programming extends to performance art, concerts, readings, and fashion shows. Night owls will appreciate the 10 pm (midnight on Thursday) closing. The museum's chic Bambini trattoria and cocktail bar—serving delicious authentic Italian cuisine and Neapolitan-style pizzas—is a regular haunt for locals, especially for cocktails, dinner, and late-night cravings, thanks to its wraparound terrace and Eiffel Tower views. But there's also a small café area at the restaurant entrance for a quick bite and glass of wine or cup of coffee. Visit the offbeat bookshop for colorful souvenirs that are as edgy and subversive as the exhibits.

Richly sculpted cloisters link the cathedral to the former Palais des Archevêques, home to collections covering art and history. Note the Donjon Gilles-Aycelin and its late-13th-century keep; climb the 162 steps to the top for a view over the town and surrounding region.

Pick up a map at the tourist office in the Palais des Festivals, the building that sets the scene for the famous Cannes Film Festival. As you leave the information center, head to your right to see the 24 red-carpeted stairs that A-listers ascend every year. Set into the surrounding pavement, the Chemin des Étoiles (Stars' Walk) enshrines some 150 autographed hand imprints—including those of Depardieu, Streep, and Stallone (the clay imprints are sent to a potter in Vallauris, before being cast in metal in Rhône). From October to April, the Palais hosts music, theater, dance, and comedy performances for surprisingly reasonable prices.

The Spanish influence is evident in Perpignan's leading monument, the fortified Palais des Rois de Majorque, begun in the 13th century by Jacques II of Majorca. Highlights here are the majestic Cour d'Honneur (Courtyard of Honor), the two-tier Flamboyant Gothic chapel of Ste-Croix Marie-Madelene, and the Grande Salle (Great Hall), with its monumental fireplaces.

Formerly the Archbishop's Palace, this UNESCO World Heritage List museum has an impressive display of tapestries and coronation robes of 32 French kings, as well as several statues rescued from the facade of the Notre-Dame de Reims. The second-floor views of the cathedral, which stands alongside it, are terrific. Due to major restorations, the Palais du Tau is currently closed to the public until 2026.

Built in the 15th century and again after a fire at the end of the 19th century, this impressive palace originally housed the dukes of Lorraine. The stunning architecture combines Flamboyant Gothic with Renaissance. Today, the palace houses one part of the expansive Musée Lorrain, along with the neighboring Couvent des Cordeliers and the Palais du Gouvernment. A major renovation project means the museum is closed to the public until 2029. Next door, a small, free exhibition from the collection is hosted in the Eglise des Cordeliers.

A listed heritage building, this palace was built in 1648 for Jean-Baptiste Lascaris-Vintimille, marechal to the Duke of Savoy. The magnificent vaulted staircase, with its massive stone balustrade and niches filled with classical gods, is surpassed in grandeur only by the Flemish tapestries (after Rubens) and the extraordinary trompe-l'oeil fresco depicting the fall of Phaëthon. With a little luck, you'll be in time for one of the many classical concerts performed here. Note, however, that the building has no elevator.

The Palais National, just outside the citadel and above Place Gaffory, is the ancient residence of Genoa's representatives in Corsica and was the seat of the Corsican parliament from 1755 to 1769, where Paoli set up his government for independent Corsica. Today it is part of Corte University.

A great alternative to Disneyland, and a wonderful day out for young and old, this Gallic theme park takes its cue from a French comic-book figure whose adventures are set during the Roman invasion of France 2,000 years ago. Among the 30 rides and six shows that attract thundering herds of families each year are a mock Gallo-Roman village, costumed druids, performing dolphins, splash-happy waterslides, and a giant roller coaster.

Lofty Parc de Belleville is Paris’s highest-altitude park and one of its prettiest. Traversed by shaded, winding lanes interspersed with woods, gardens, and sloping, grassy fields, it’s a lovely spot to have a picnic while taking in spectacular panoramic views of Paris. The park is also home to one of the city’s last cultivated vineyards, with vines of Chardonnay and Pinot Meunier that produce a slightly sparkling wine called Piquette. You are welcome to join in the grape harvest during the last week of September.

Like a private backyard for the Eurocrats in the Palais de l'Europe, this delightful flower-laden park is punctuated by noble copper beeches and home to a large boating lake. Noisy local storks make their nests on top of the central pavilion and in nearby trees.

This picturesque, landscaped city park has labeled ancient trees, a rose garden, playgrounds, a carousel, and a small zoo.

This former abattoir (slaughterhouse) is now an ultramodern, 130-acre park with lawns and play areas, an excellent science museum, a music complex, and a cinema: all in all, it's the perfect place to entertain kids. You could easily spend a whole day here. The park itself was designed in the 1980s by postmodern architecture star Bernard Tschumi, who melded industrial elements, children's games (don't miss the dragon slide), ample green spaces, and funky sculptures along the canal into one vast yet unified playground. Loved by picnickers, the lawns also attract rehearsing samba bands and pickup soccer players. In summer there are outdoor festivals and a free open-air cinema, where people gather at dusk to watch movies on a huge inflatable screen.

In cold weather you can visit an authentic submarine and the Espace Chapiteaux (a circus tent featuring contemporary acrobatic theater performances) before hitting the museums. The hands-on one at the Cité des Sciences et de l'Industrie is a favorite stop for families and a must for science fans; its 3D Omnimax cinema (La Géode) is housed in a giant mirrored ball. Arts-oriented visitors of all ages will marvel at the excellent, instrument-filled Musée de la Musique. The park has even more in store for music lovers in the form of the Philharmonie de Paris, a striking 2,400-seat concert hall designed by Jean Nouvel. All that's left of the slaughterhouse that once stood here is La Grande Halle, a magnificent iron-and-glass building currently used for exhibitions, performances, and trade shows.

If you're tired of perfectly manicured Parisian parks with lawns that are off-limits to your weary feet, this lovely 61-acre hilltop expanse is for you. Built in 1863 on abandoned gypsum quarries and a former gallows, it was northern Paris's first park, part of Napoléon III's planned greening of the city (the emperor had spent years in exile in London, where he fell in love with the public parks). Today this park in the untouristy 19e arrondissement has grassy fields, shady walkways, waterfalls, and a picturesque lake dotted with swans. Rising from the lake is a rocky cliff you can climb to find a mini Greek-style temple and a commanding view of Sacré-Coeur Basilica. A favorite of families, the park also has pony rides and an open-air puppet theater—Guignol de Paris (€7; shows at 3:15 pm and 4:30 pm Wednesday and Saturday, and at 11:15 am and 4:30 pm on Sunday, year-round)—not far from the entrance at the Buttes-Chaumont métro stop. When you've worked up an appetite, grab a snack at the Rosa Bonheur café ( www.rosabonheur.fr), or reserve a table for weekend lunch at Le Pavillon du Lac restaurant.

The 56-acre Parc des Oiseaux, one of Europe's finest bird sanctuaries, is home sweet home to 400 species of birds from five continents. More than 400 aviaries house species from waders to birds of prey, and tropical birds in vivid hues fill the indoor birdhouse. Allow two hours for a visit.

An extensive park—complete with a lake dotted with tiny islands—stretches behind the château. Within it is the Laiterie de la Reine (Queen's Dairy), built for Marie-Antoinette: inspired by the writings of Jean-Jacques Rousseau, she came here to escape from the pressures of court life, pretending to be a simple milkmaid. It has a small marble temple and grotto and, nearby, the shell-lined Chaumière des Coquillages (Shell Pavilion).

Le Nôtre's park is based on that familiar French royal combination of formality and romantic eccentricity. The former is represented in the neatly planned parterres and a mighty, straight-banked canal; the latter comes to the fore in the waterfall and the Hameau, a mock-Norman village that inspired Marie-Antoinette's version at Versailles. You can explore on foot or on an electric train, and, in the warmer months, take a rowboat for a meander down the Grand Canal.

Make sure you stroll through this lovely park, east of the Palais des Musées. It's a large, formal French garden with regimented rows of trees, shrubs, and flowers, plus a notable view of the church of Notre-Dame-en-St-Melaine.

This exquisitely landscaped, 20-acre park began in 1778 as the Duc de Chartres's private garden. Though some of the land was sold off under the Second Empire (creating the exclusive real estate that now borders the park), the refined atmosphere and some of the fanciful faux ruins have survived. Immaculately dressed children play under the watchful eye of their nannies, while lovers cuddle on the benches. In 1797, André Garnerin, the world's first-recorded parachutist, staged a landing in the park. The rotunda—known as the Chartres Pavilion—is surely the city's grandest public restroom: it started life as a tollhouse.

As you drive the few roads that crisscross the Camargue, you'll usually be within the boundaries of the Parc Naturel Régional de Camargue, which covers more than 400 square miles of the of the Camargue’s 580 total square miles—basically, everything but a slice of the far western quarter around the gateway town of Aigues-Mortes. Unlike most national parks in the United States, this area is supervised by the state but privately owned, primarily by the manadier ranchers. Though there are several protected nature reserves, they have no regulatory power and primarily serve as consultants to local stakeholders.

Virtually all of the Camargue’s major roads, as well as its hiking, cycling, and horseback riding paths, are within the park. In fact, you’ll rarely feel you’ve gotten an off-the-beaten-path experience until you’re out of the car and exploring on foot, by bike, or on horseback. In the saddle, you’re likely to be with a group unless you book an individual tour in advance. Signs for horseback rides are everywhere along the main roads, and there are about 15 major cycling and trekking routes, most of which can be completed within one to six hours.

The best sources for maps and information, and what you’re likely to encounter, can be found at the tourist office in Stes-Maries-de-la-Mer, where many trails begin, or the Centre d’Information de la Réserve Nationale de Camargue, which also has exhibits on area wildlife and is the starting point of three discovery trails. You can also get trail maps and expert advice at the bike rental shops like Le Vélo Sainto ( www.levelosaintois.com) in Stes-Maries-de-la-Mer.

You'll need comfortable hiking shoes and a backpack to carry mosquito repellent, sunglasses, binoculars, snacks, and plenty of water. Provisions are available in the main gateway towns, and routes are well marked so there’s little worry about getting lost. 

The easiest place to view birdlife is the Parc Ornithologique du Pont de Gau. On some 150 acres of marsh and salt lands, birds are protected, and injured birds are treated and kept in large pens to be released if and when they're deemed able to survive. A series of boardwalks (including a short, child-friendly inner loop) snakes over the wetlands, the longest leading to an observation blind, where a half hour of silence, binoculars in hand, can reveal unsuspected satisfactions.

The 35-acre zoo in the Bois de Vincennes is France's largest, with 1,000 or so animals housed in cleverly designed environments (aka "biozones") that mix species as Mother Nature intended. These include a free-range aviary you can walk through and a greenhouse that re-creates a slice of the rain forest.

Originally the palatial home of the Breton Parliament and now of the Rennes law courts, the Parlement de Bretagne was designed in 1618 by Salomon de Brosse, architect of the Luxembourg Palace in Paris. It was the most important building in Rennes to escape the 1720 flames; however, in 1994, following a massive demonstration by Breton fishermen demanding state subsidies, another disastrous fire broke out that left it a charred shell. Fortunately, much of the artwork—though damaged—was saved by firefighters, who arrived at the scene after the building was already engulfed in flames. It was a case of the alarm that cried "fire" once too often; a faulty bell, which rang regularly for no reason, had led the man on duty to ignore the signal. It has been completely restored. Call the tourist office ( 02–99–67–11–11) to book a 90-minute guided tour.

Up a set of grand tiered stairs that lead from the Quai Bonaparte, the Parvis St-Michel is a broad plaza paved in some 250,000 round white and gray stones patterned in the coat of arms of the Grimaldi family. The plaza was created in the 17th century by Prince Honoré II; the letter H is incorporated into the design as a kind of signature at the base of his great gift to the city.

This stately, glass-roofed arcade was built in 1825 and expertly renovated in 1988. Today, it's home to about 20 shops, many of them small designers selling original jewelry, accessories, and housewares.

If your knowledge of Paris history is nul (nil), stop here for an entertaining free tutorial. Built in 1879 as a private museum, the Pavillon today is a restored structure of glass and iron that showcases the city's urban development through the ages. A giant model of Paris traces its evolution (with information in English). There are photos, maps, and videos, plus a giant digital interactive model detailing what Paris is predicted to look like in the future. Reconstruction plans—called Grand Paris—are vast and take into account the 2024 Olympics and beyond. The Pavillon also has a café-bookstore and hosts frequent architecture-theme temporary exhibits.

Early on June 6, 1944, the British 6th Airborne Division landed by glider and captured this bridge, which local residents later named for the division's emblem of Bellerophon astride his winged horse. This proved to be the first step toward liberating France from Nazi occupation, and the bridge itself became a symbol of the Allied invasion. To see it, take D514 north from Caen for 13 km (8 miles) and turn right at Bénouville. The original bridge—erected in 1935—has been replaced by a similar, slightly wider one, but the older span can be seen at the adjacent Mémorial Pegasus visitor center. A full-size replica Horsa glider is currently on view in the museum's park, with a fully refurbished cockpit.

The "little" palace has a superb, sometimes overlooked, collection of excellent paintings, sculpture, and objets d'art, with works by Monet, Gauguin, and Courbet, among others, and entrance is free. The Palais also hosts a revolving series of excellent temporary exhibitions (€15). The building, like the Grand Palais across the street, is an architectural marvel of marble, glass, mosaics, and gilt built for the 1900 World's Fair, with impressive entry doors and gilded gates and huge windows overlooking the river. Search directly above the main galleries for the 16 plaster busts set into the wall, representing famous artists. Outside, note two eye-catching sculptures: French World War I hero Georges Clemenceau faces the Champs-Élysées while a resolute Winston Churchill faces the Seine. In warmer weather, head to the charming garden café with terrace seating. The museum is open until 8 pm on Friday and Saturday.