1176 Best Sights in France

Montpellier's grandest avenue was built at the end of the 17th century and dedicated to Louis XIV.

Stroll the length of Menton's famous beachfront along the Promenade du Soleil: broad, white, and studded with palm trees, from Plage du Fossan in front of the covered market Marché des Halles westward to Plage de la Piscine, next to the indoor municipal swimming pool Les Bains du Cap (€7.50 entry). A little farther along the seaside walkway, Le Paradis de la Glace ice-cream parlor is a reward any time of year.

Beaulieu's small beach attracts families with children, and you can rent paddleboards and jet-skis during high season. On the Promenade Maurice-Rouvier, a paved pedestrian path that begins not far from the Villa Kerylos, you can stroll the waterfront, past grand villas and their tropical gardens, all the way to St-Jean-Cap-Ferrat. The 30-minute walk winds along the Baie des Fourmis (Bay of Ants)—whose name alludes to the black rocks that appear to be "crawling" up from the sea—and has great views of the sparkling Mediterranean and surrounding mountains.

An elaborate Renaissance well near the belfry, the Puits à Six-Seaux was constructed in 1579. Its name recalls the six buckets suspended from its metal chains.

To get a feel for the territory, start your exploration at the far east end of the Vieille Ville and walk out to the end of the Quai Napoléon III, which juts far out into the water. Above the masts of pleasure boats, all of Menton spreads over the hills, and the mountains of Italy loom behind. This is the place to be at sunrise.

Around the Palais National in the Haute Ville (Upper Town), it is a joy to wander through the tiny alleys of the Quartier de Chiostra. To take it all in, first head south following the signs to the Belvédère, a stone observation deck that offers a 360-degree panorama of Corte, its Citadelle, and the majestic surrounding peaks. Follow the cobblestone path (as you look down) to the right from the Belvédère, bearing right and across at the Chapelle St-Théophile. Coming into the tiny square on your left, don't miss the open stone staircase on the opposite wall or the prehistoric fertility goddess carved into the wall to the left. Farther downhill you will rejoin the ramp leading into Place Pasquale-Paoli.

Walk along Quai Suffern where the statue of the Bailli de Suffren, an 18th-century customs official, stands guard. Continue past the quayside streets lined with famous cafés to the Môle Jean Réveille, the harbor wall, where, if the wind isn't too strong, you can walk out for a good view of Ste-Maxime across the sparkling bay, the hills of Estérel, and, on a clear day, the distant Alps. Retrace your steps along the digue to the 15th-century Tour du Portalet, and head onward to the old fishermen's quarter, the Quartier de la Ponche, just east of Quai Jean Jaurès.

Here you can find the Port des Pécheurs (Fishermen's Port), on whose beach Bardot did a star turn in And God Created Woman. Complete with gulf-side harbor, St-Tropez's Old Town is a maze of twisting, narrow streets—designed to break the impact of the mistral—that open to tiny squares with fountains. Trellised jasmine and wrought-iron birdcages hang from the shuttered windows, and many of the tiny streets dead-end at the sea.

The main drag here, Rue de la Ponche, leads into Place l'Hôtel de Ville, landmarked by a mairie (town hall) marked out in typical Tropezienne hues of pink and green. Head up Rue Commandant Guichard to the baroque Église de St-Tropez to pay your respects to the bust and barque of St-Torpes, every day but May 17, when they are carried aloft in the Bravade parade honoring the town's namesake saint.

St-Malo’s imposing stone ramparts have withstood the pounding of the Atlantic since the 12th century. They were considerably enlarged and modified in the 18th century, and now extend from the château for almost 2 km (1 mile) around the Vieille Ville—known as intra-muros (within walls). The views from them are stupendous, especially at high tide. Look for the statues of celebrated explorer Jacques Cartier and swashbuckling corsair Robert Surcouf; the latter, a hero of many daring 18th-century raids on the British navy, eternally wags an angry finger over the waves at England.

If you're an even more committed nature lover, venture into this intensely protected area at the very heart of the Camargue, where a central pond called Le Vaccarès is mostly used as a site for approved scientific research. The wildlife (birds, nutria, fish) is virtually undisturbed here, and you won't come across the cabins and herds of bulls and horses found elsewhere in the Camargue. Made up mostly of vast ponds and marshland, access to this area is limited to horseback, bike, and foot. Paths around its perimeter permit views of the birds and other wildlife. Maps detailing these paths can be downloaded from the Parc Naturel Régional de Camargue website. They're also available from tourist offices in Arles, Stes-Maries-de-la-Mer, and Port Saint-Louis, as well as bike rental shops in Stes-Maries-de-la-Mer. 

The last vestige of the city's sizable Roman baths is a Roman gateway decorated with delicate friezes.

Despite its civilized airs, Moustiers is another gateway to the Gorges du Verdon, providing the best access to the southern bank and the famous drive along D71 called the Route de la Corniche Sublime. (There's also the scenic 23-km [14-mile] route along the northern ridge, Route des Crêtes along the D23, which starts at Castellane and has no fewer than 14 viewpoints that cut through the ridges of the canyon.)

Breathtaking views over withering drop-offs punctuate this vertiginous road just wide enough for two cars if you all hold your breath. The best of the vistas is called the Balcons de la Mescla, with viewpoints built into the cliff face overlooking the torrential whirlpool where the Verdon and Artuby combine.

Two blocks behind La Croisette lies this attractive high-end shopping street. At its western end is Rue Meynadier, packed with trendy clothing boutiques and fine-food shops. Not far away is the covered Marché Forville, the scene of the animated morning food market. Rue Hoche, behind Rue d'Antibes and down from Galleries Lafayette, has lots of boutiques and cafés.

This narrow shopping street escaped Haussmann's urban renovations and still retains the country feel of old Auteuil, a sedate bourgeois enclave. Molière once lived on the site of No. 2, and Racine was on nearby Rue du Buis. The pair met up to clink glasses and exchange drama notes at the Mouton Blanc Inn, now a traditional brasserie, at No. 40. Numbers 19–25 and 29 are an interesting combination of 17th- and 18th-century buildings. At the foot of the street, the scaly dome of the Église Notre-Dame d'Auteuil (built in the 1880s) is an unmistakable small-time cousin of Sacré-Coeur in Montmartre. Rue d'Auteuil is at its liveliest on Wednesday and Saturday morning, when a much-loved street market crams onto Place Jean-Lorraine.

Several sights of interest line Rue de la Citadelle, including the Maison Arcanzola (Arcanzola House) at No. 32 (1510), the Maison des Évêques (Bishops' House) at No. 39, and the famous Prison des Évêques (Bishops' Prison) next door to it. Continuing up you'll reach the Citadelle itself—a classic Vauban fortress built between 1625 and 1627, now occupied by a school. The views from the top, complete with maps identifying the surrounding heights and valleys, are panoramic.

The church of Ste-Marie points the way to Sarlat's most interesting street, Rue des Consuls. Among its medieval buildings are the Hôtel Plamon, with broad windows that resemble those of a Gothic church, and, opposite, the 15th-century Hôtel de Vassal.

Once you've visited the castle, recharge your camera batteries and head for the medieval heart of town, Rue Haute St-Maurice. Block after block of storybook half-timber houses make this street a virtual open-air museum that catapults you back to the days of Rabelais. It's also home to one actual museum—the Musée d'Art et d'Histoire at No. 44, which is devoted to the arts and crafts of Chinon and the surrounding area from prehistory to the 19th century.

As you wander along these streets, you may feel you have been transported to a Moroccan souk (market). Shops that serve the needs of Marseille's large and vibrant North African community have open bins of olives, coffee beans, tea, spices, chickpeas, couscous, peppers, and salted sardines. Tiny shoebox cafés sell African sweets, and the daily Marché de Noailles in the surrounding maze of streets is the city's most vibrant and colorful market.

Running the length of the Enfeus gardens is Rue Montaigne, where the great 16th-century philosopher Michel de Montaigne once lived. Some of the half-timber houses that line it cast a fairy-tale spell. Rue d'Albusse (adjoining the garden behind the cathedral) and Rue de la Salamandre are narrow, twisty streets that head to Place de la Liberté and the 18th-century Hôtel de Ville.

Running parallel to the waterfront, the extraordinary 14th-century Rue Obscure (Dark Street) is entirely covered by vaulted arcades; it sheltered the people of Villefranche when the Germans fired their parting shots—an artillery bombardment—near the end of World War II.

Serving as the main commercial artery of the Vieille Ville, Rue St-Michel is lined with shops, cafés, and orange trees.

This eye-catching church with a compact Art Nouveau interior was the first modern house of worship built in Paris (1897–1904) and the first to be constructed of reinforced cement. Architect Anatole de Baudot's revolutionary technique defied the accepted rules at the time with its use of unsupported masonry; critics, who failed to stop construction, feared the building would crumble under its own weight. Today the church attracts a steady flow of visitors curious about its unusual Moorish-inspired facade of redbrick and curved arches. Note the tiny clock at the top left of the bell tower and the handsome stained-glass windows. Free concerts and art exhibitions are staged in the church from time to time.

Built as the market neighborhood's answer to Notre-Dame, this massive church is decidedly squeezed into its surroundings. Constructed between 1532 and 1640 with foundations dating from 1200, the church mixes a Gothic exterior (complete with impressive flying buttresses) and a Renaissance interior. On the east end (Rue Montmartre), Dutch master Rubens's Pilgrims of Emmaus (1611) hangs in a small chapel. Two chapels to the left is Keith Haring's The Life of Christ, a triptych in bronze and white-gold patina. It was given to the church after the artist's death in 1990, in recognition of the parish's efforts to help people with AIDS. On the Rue Montmartre side of the church, look for the small door to Saint Agnes's crypt, topped with a stone plaque noting the date, 1213, below a curled fish, an indication the patron made his fortune in fish. There's free entry to the weekly organ concerts.

Tucked in the shadow of mighty Sacré-Coeur is one of the oldest churches in Paris. Built in 1147 on the site of a 5th-century temple to the god Mars, this small sanctuary with its impressive sculpted metal doors was once part of a substantial Benedictine abbey. Besides the church, all that remains is a small cemetery, now closed (you can see it through the ornate metal door on the left as you enter the courtyard). Renovated multiple times through the ages, Saint-Pierre combines various styles. Interior elements, such as the columns in the nave, are medieval; the facade dates to the 18th century, with renovations in the 19th century; and the stained-glass windows are 20th century. Maurice Utrillo's 1914 painting of the titular saint hangs in the Musée de l'Orangerie. Admission is free; English audioguides are €3.

At 2:30 am on June 6, 1944, the 82nd Airborne Division was dropped over Ste-Mère, heralding the start of D-Day operations. After securing their position, U.S. forces pushed north, then west, cutting off the Cotentin Peninsula on June 18 and taking Cherbourg on June 26. German defenses proved fiercer farther south, and St-Lô was not liberated until July 19.

Northwest of Le Palais, you'll discover the prettiest fishing harbor on the island; from here you can see across to the Quiberon Peninsula, with its dramatic coastal cliffs and sea-lashed coves.

The famous seaside footpath, the Sentier des Douaniers starts up at the west end of the Trestraou beach in the resort town of Perros-Guirec, 3 km (2 miles) east of Trébeurden; from there this beautifully manicured, fence-lined, and gorgeously scenic path provides a two-hour walk eastward, through fern forests, past cliffs and pink granite boulders to the pretty beach at Ploumanac'h. If you keep an eye out, you might even spot one of the mythical, 900-year-old Korrigans—native sprites with pointed ears, beards, and hooves, who come out at night from seaside grottoes to dance around fires. From Perros-Guirec you can take a boat trip out to the Sept Îles, a group of seven islets that are bird sanctuaries. On a hillside perch above Ploumanac'h is the village of La Clarté, home to the little Chapelle Notre-Dame de la Clarté, built of local pink granite and decorated with 14 stations of the cross painted by the master of the Pont-Aven school, Maurice Denis. During the Pardon of la Clarté (August 15), a bishop preaches an outdoor Mass for the Virgin Mary, village girls wear Trégor costumes, and the statue of the Virgin Mary wears a gold crown (she wears a fake one for the rest of the year). On Ploumanac'h's pleasant beach, Plage de la Bastille, you'll find the Oratoire de St-Guirec, a rose-granite chapel lodged in the sand with other rocks; facing the beach is the neo-medieval, 19th-century Château de Costaérès, where Henryk Sienkiewicz wrote Quo Vadis. Unfortunately, the magical castle-by-the-sea—whose image graces many postcards—is private property (you can, however, rent it for €15,000 per week).

This popular trail starts out from the town cemetery and winds through a magical, multicolor palette de pierres (of rocks) replete with eroded red cliffs and chestnut groves. The circuit takes about 45 minutes. Its opening hours are complicated, so check ahead with the tourist office.

The \"King's Path\" is a marked trail just below Boulevard des Pyrénées. At the top, near the Boulevard Aragon, look for the map identifying the main peaks of the Pyrénées in the distance.

This museum and memorial is France's only still-intact deportation camp, where 10,000 men, women, and children of 38 nationalities (2,000 of whom were eventually transferred to Auschwitz) were detained over three years, before the structure was repurposed as an armaments factory. Direct contact with internment areas, including sleeping and dining quarters and hiding places, makes for a rare immediacy. Traces of the many artists and intellectuals who were detained here, including Surrealist artists Max Ernst and Hans Bellmer and novelist Lion Feuchtwanger, can be found in the many artworks displayed (all made here), and the graffiti still vibrantly intact on the walls. At the conclusion of the visit, you retrace the deportees' path to a railroad wagon parked near the main building, a sobering reminder of a terrible chapter in French history.

This museum is open year-round, but if it's truffles you're after, take a guided tour of the museum followed by the truffle groves in Sorges, a picturesque village northeast of Périgueux. Organized by the Sorges Truffle Museum (L'écomusée de la Truffe), the hour-long outings run every Tuesday and Thursday in July and August, beginning at 2:30 for the museum and 3:30 for the hiking trail.