258 Best Sights in France

Don't miss the formal Italianate gardens of Fort St-André, littered with remains of the abbey that preceded the fortifications. The gardens are now privately owned.

Shaded by plane trees and sheltering a sandy pétanque field, this is a little piece of Provence in a big, glitzy resort town. Every morning except Monday, a flower market paints the square in vivid colors, and, during the weekend arts-and-crafts market (10–6), you can find paintings of flowers. The antiques market shares the space on Saturday and the first Sunday of every month.

Along with 10,000 fish and a giant tank of small sharks, this attractive space beneath the Trocadéro gardens promises nature documentaries in its cinema space, puppet and magic shows, and workshops for children in animation, art, and dance (these are offered in French, but the staff speaks English). Book tickets online to save money and avoid lines.

This Roman amphitheater, designed as a theater and circus, was almost completely destroyed by barbarians in AD 280. The site was rediscovered in 1869, and you can still see part of the stage and tiered seating. Along with the remains of the baths at Cluny, the arena constitutes rare evidence of the powerful Roman city of Lutetia that flourished on the Rive Gauche in the 3rd century. Today it's a favorite spot for picnicking, pickup soccer, or boules.

Marcel Proust lovingly described the genteel elegance of the storied Champs-Élysées (pronounced chahnz-el-ee-zay, with an n sound instead of m, and no p) during its Belle Époque heyday, when its cobblestones resounded with the clatter of horses and carriages. Today, despite unrelenting traffic and the intrusion of chain stores and fast-food franchises, the avenue still sparkles. There's always something happening here: stores are open late (and many are open on Sunday, a rarity in Paris); nightclubs remain top destinations; and cafés offer prime people-watching, though you'll pay for the privilege. Ater all, this is Europe's most expensive piece of real estate. Along the 2-km (1¼-mile) stretch, you can find marquee names in French luxury, like Cartier, Guerlain, and Louis Vuitton. Car manufacturers lure international visitors with space-age showrooms. Old stalwarts, meanwhile, are still going strong—including the Lido cabaret and Fouquet's, whose celebrity clientele extends back to James Joyce. The avenue is also the setting for the last leg of the Tour de France bicycle race (the third or fourth Sunday in July), as well as Bastille Day (July 14) and Armistice Day (November 11) ceremonies. The Champs-Élysées, which translates to "Elysian Fields" (the resting place of the blessed in Greek mythology), began life as a cow pasture and in 1666 was transformed into a park by the royal landscape architect André Le Nôtre. Traces of its green origins are visible toward the Concorde, where elegant 19th-century park pavilions house the historic restaurants Ledoyen and Laurent. The celebrated avenue has undergone positive changes in recent years—including a widening of pedestrian walks and the addition of cycling lanes—with more improvements planned for the future.

This chic and sleek courtyard is home to a Thierry Marx bakery, Pierre Hermé café, and the very popular Certified Coffee where you'll usually find hipsters working on their laptops. There's also a nice collection of restaurants, a wine bar, outdoor seating, and contemporary artwork. Enjoy a gourmet snack or meal and soak in the modern contrast to the 19th-century limestone buildings on the street that hides this quiet haven of gastronomy. Enter from  83 rue du Bac or  14 bd. Raspail, which features a 79-foot-long cardboard and wood forest by artist Eva Jospin.

From this spot you can overlook the area's fields and mas (farms), and the modern vacation homes are differentiated from the older properties only by their aqua-blue pools. Belvédère is just downhill from the château; look for the signs.

Tucked away south of the Gare de Lyon in the 12e arrondissement, blocks of stone warehouses that once stored wine are now home to Bercy Village ( 28 rue François Truffaut), a collection of boutiques and eateries that stay open unusually late for Paris. Adjacent to the shops is the tranquil Parc de Bercy, with lawns, ponds, and flower beds crisscrossed by gravel paths, and the Jardin Yitzhak Rabin, a garden named for the late Nobel Peace Prize winner. Nearby, at  51 rue de Bercy, a Cubist building by Frank Gehry houses the Cinémathèque Française, a film buff's paradise, showing classic films, many in English; there are frequent homages to directors and actors, plus a cinema bookshop and museum.

Located within Parc du Château, the Bergerie Nationale (National Sheepfold) is the site of a more serious agricultural venture: the famous Rambouillet Merinos raised here, prized for the quality and yield of their wool, are descendants of sheep imported from Spain by Louis XVI in 1786. A museum alongside tells the tale and evokes shepherd life. Don't miss the wonderful boutique—it features products from the farm, including fromage de brebis (sheep's milk cheese), produce, potted pâtés, jams, honey, and, of course, wool.

The eco-minded may appreciate the sustainable makeover given to this relaxed beach club, which swapped its former concrete frame for natural materials like wood and plant mesh and embraced solar energy. Both it and its restaurant are down a bamboo-lined path and hidden behind lush vegetation. Sun beds cost €50, cabanas are €120, and beach towels are €10. At €28, even the kids menu staple of chicken nuggets gets the St. Trop pricing treatment here. Amenities: food and drink; showers; toilets. Best for: swimming.

This prestigious national equestrian academy trains France’s future riding stars. Unique in Europe, the Cadre Noir de Saumur has 400 horses, extensive stables, five Olympic-size riding rings, and miles of specially laid tracks. Try for a morning tour, which gives you a chance to admire the horses in training. A gala equestrian performance is put on for enthusiastic crowds during special weekends in April, May, July, September, and October; reservations are a must.

On your way from the overpriced parking garages, you'll pass a Provençal scene played out with cinematic flair yet still authentic: the perpetual game of pétanque outside the Café de la Place. A sun-weathered pack of men (and it is overwhelmingly men) in caps, cardigans, and workers' blues—occasionally joined by a passing professional with tie and rolled-up sleeves—gathers under the massive plane trees and stands serene, silent, and intent to toss metal balls across the dusty square. Until his death, Yves Montand made regular appearances here, participating in this ultimate southern scenario. Note that although the café is the perfect place to people-watch, don't expect much in terms of food and service.

Touring the Calanques, whose fjordlike finger-coves probe the rocky coastline, is a must. Either take a sightseeing cruise in a boat that dips into each Calanque in turn (tickets, sold at the eastern end of the port, are €21–€33, depending on how many Calanques you see) or hike across the cliff tops, clambering down the steep sides to these barely accessible retreats. One boat trip lets you swim in the turquoise waters under Cap Canaille, but that must be booked at the kiosk in the morning (four to five departures per day from June to September).

Although of the Calanques closest to Cassis, Port Miou is the least attractive—it was a pierre de Cassis (Cassis stone) quarry until 1982 when the Calanques became protected sites—it now has an active leisure and fishing port. Calanque Port Pin is prettier, with wind-twisted pines growing at angles from white-rock cliffs. But with its tiny beach and jagged cliffs looming overhead, covered with gnarled pine and scrub and its rock spur known to climbers as the "finger of God," Calanque En Vau, reachable via a challenging two-hour hike both there and back (or your own private boat), is a small piece of paradise.

A network of cobbled alleyways rambles across the citadel to the 17th-century Cathédrale Ste-Marie, one of the town's prettiest churches. Inside, classic Baroque style abounds in an explosion of gilt decoration. Numerous works of art from the 18th and 19th centuries, forged metalwork, sculptures, and statues that were generous gifts from the bishops of Mariana, residents of the cathedral from 1604 to 1622, are showcased.

Landscaped at the start of the 20th century and restored in the two years leading up to the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, the park is a centerpiece of current mayor Anne Hildago's plan to reduce pollution and increase the city's pedestrian and green spaces. The park's grassy lawns and gardens have already been expanded to 4 acres and dozens of new trees have been planted (many more are to come). Parts of the ambitious project—which extends across the Seine to the gardens, fountains, and green spaces leading to the Trocadéro esplanade—are on hold until city officials, environmentalists, and Parisians can agree on a plan.

Despite Tarascon's modern-day drawbacks, with the walls of its formidable château plunging straight into the roaring Rhône, this ancient city on the river presents a daunting challenge to Beaucaire, its traditional enemy across the water. Begun in the 15th century by the noble Anjou family on the site of a Roman castellum, the castle grew through the generations into a splendid structure, crowned with both round and square towers and elegantly furnished. René the Good (1409–80) held court here, entertaining luminaries of the age.

The castle owes its superb preservation to its use, through the ensuing centuries, as a prison. It first served as such in the 17th century, and it released its last prisoner in 1926. Complete with a moat, a drawbridge, and a lovely faceted spiral staircase, it retains its beautiful decorative Renaissance stonework and original cross-mullioned windows.

Set above split-level gardens, this 17th-century village château (also depicted by van Gogh) now houses a fascinating immersive museum. You'll receive a set of headphones (English available), with commentary that guides you past various tableaux illustrating life during the Impressionist years. Although there are no Impressionist originals—500 reproductions pop up on screens interspersed between the tableaux—this is one of France's most imaginative, enjoyable, and innovative museums. Some of the special effects, including talking mirrors, computerized cabaret dancing girls, and a simulated train ride past Impressionist landscapes, are worthy of Disney.

Looming over the sea at Pointe des Pendus (Hanged Man's Point), the Château de la Napoule is a spectacularly bizarre hybrid of Romanesque, Gothic, Moroccan, and Hollywood styles cooked up by the eccentric American sculptor Henry Clews (1876–1937). Working with his architect wife, Clews transformed the 14th-century bastion into something that suited his personal tastes and then filled the place with his own fantastical sculptures. The couple reside in their tombs in the tower crypt, its windows left slightly ajar to permit their souls to escape and allow them to "return at eventide as sprites and dance upon the windowsill." Today, the château's foundation hosts visiting writers and artists, who set to work surrounded by Clews's gargoyle-ish sculptures.

Built in the 1460s, bearing a massive portcullis and gate, and never altered, the Château de Langeais has an interior noted for its superb collection of medieval and Renaissance furnishings: its assorted fireplaces, tapestries, chests, and beds would make Guinevere and Lancelot feel right at home. Fifteen-minute waxworks and video shows tell the story of the secret dawn wedding of King Charles VIII with Anne of Brittany in the room where it took place in 1491. Outside, gardens nestle behind sturdy walls and battlements; kids will make a beeline for the playgrounds and tree house. The town itself has other sights, including a Renaissance church tower, but chances are you won't want to move from the delightful outdoor cafés that face the castle entrance. Do follow the road a bit to the right (when looking at the entrance) to discover the charming historic houses grouped around a waterfall and canal.

Summering in the Château de Montauban brought French journalist and author Alphonse Daudet a peace he missed in literary Paris. Daudet frequently climbed the windswept, pine-studded hilltop to the rustic old windmill that ground the local grain from 1814 to 1915—the inspiration for his famous folkloric short stories Lettres de Mon Moulin. The windmill is now closed to the public, but the graceful château houses a museum devoted to Daudet's writings, and you can freely stroll the grounds to enjoy the peace and sweeping views of the Rhône valley and the Alpilles that so inspired him.

A massive stone edifice with a striking silhouette, the Château des Baux once capped the imposing 13th-century fortress of the powerful Lords of Baux, who claimed descent from Balthazar, one of the three magi. The wide and varied grounds contain ruins of the Sarrazine and Paravelle towers, the tiny Chapelle St-Blaise, a dovecote, and a hospital (now a garden). At the fortifications’ highest point, you’ll understand the strategic importance of this sprawling 12-acre site whose panorama of Provence stretches from Aix to Arles and, on a clear day, to the Mont Ventoux and beyond.

Crowning Haut-de-Cagnes is the squat, crenellated Château-Museé—an imposing fortress with banners flying from its square watchtower—that was built in 1310 by the Grimaldis (Prince Albert of Monaco's family) and reinforced over the centuries. You are welcomed inside by a grand balustraded stairway and triangular Renaissance courtyard with a triple row of classical arcades infinitely more graceful than the exterior. Beyond lie vaulted medieval chambers, a vast Renaissance fireplace, and a splendid 17th-century trompe-l'oeil fresco of the fall of Phaëthon from his sun chariot.

The château also contains three highly specialized museums: the Musée de l'Olivier (Olive Tree Museum), which highlights the history and cultivation of this Provençal mainstay; the obscure and eccentric Collection Suzy-Solidor, a group of portraits of the cabaret chanteuse painted by her artist friends, including Cocteau and Dufy; and the Musée d'Art Moderne Méditerranéen (Mediterranean Museum of Modern Art), which contains paintings by some of the 20th-century devotees of the Côte d'Azur, including Chagall, Cocteau, and Dufy. If you've climbed this far, continue to the tower and look over the coastline, just as the guards once did while on the lookout for Saracens.

A ride on one of France's last steam trains, the Chemin de Fer du Vivarais, makes an adventurous two-hour, 33-km (21-mile) trip along the narrow, rocky Doux Gorges to Lamastre and back to Tournon. Check the website for a complete train schedule.

Considering that a daily dose of chocolate is practically obligatory in Paris, it's hard to believe that this spot (opened in 2010) is the city's first museum dedicated to the sweet stuff. Exhibits on three floors tell the story of chocolate from the earliest traces of the "divine nectar" in Mayan and Aztec cultures, through to its introduction in Europe by the Spanish, who added milk and sugar to the spicy, dark brew and launched a Continental craze. There are detailed explanations in English, with many for the kids. While the production of chocolate is a major topic, the museum also has a respectable collection of some 1,000 chocolate-related artifacts, such as terra-cotta Mayan sipping vessels (they blew into straws to create foam) and delicate chocolate pots in fine porcelain that were favored by the French royal court. Frequent chocolate-making demonstrations finish with a free tasting.

Even if you haven't read Pagnol's works or seen his films, you can enjoy the Circuit Pagnol, a series of hikes (some up to 20 km [12 miles] long) in the raw-hewn, arid garrigues behind Marseille and Aubagne. Here Pagnol spent his idyllic summers, described in his Souvenirs d'un Enfance (Memories of a Childhood), crunching through the rosemary, thyme, and scrub oak at the foot of his beloved Garlaban.

When he became a famous playwright and filmmaker, he shot some of his best work in these hills, casting his wife, Jacqueline, as the first Manon of the Springs. After Pagnol's death, Claude Berri came back to the Garlaban to find a location for his remake of Manon des Sources, but found it so altered by brush fires and power cables that he chose to shoot farther east instead, around Cuges-les-Pine and Riboux. (The lovely village and Manon's well were filmed in Mirabeau, in the Luberon.)

Although the trails no longer travel amid pine-shaded olive orchards, they still let you explore primeval Provençal countryside with spectacular views of Marseille and the sea. To access the marked trails by yourself, drive to La Treille northeast of Aubagne, and follow the signs. For maps or an accompanied tour with literary commentary, contact the tourist office.

This Genoese citadel is perched on a rocky promontory at the tip of the bay. An inscription above the drawbridge—"Civitas calvi semper fidelis" (The citizens of Calvi are always faithful)—reflects the town's unswerving allegiance to Genoa. At the welcome center, just inside the gates, you can watch the video on the city's history, book an English-language guided tour, or follow the self-guided walking tour.

One of six island fortifications of its kind, the Citadelle, a Vauban-style fortress (1769–78), is built around the original 15th-century bastion at the highest point of the cliff, with the river below. In 1769, after the defeat of Ponte Novu, Corsica came under French rule. Count de Vaux, who held Corte, undertook the construction of the citadel's second reconstruction to strengthen the defense system of the city. The building contains the Musée de la Corse (Corsica Museum), dedicated to the island's history and ethnography.

Spooked by rebellions, a young Louis XIV tapped military engineer Nicolas de Clerville to build twin forts strategically flanking the narrow passage of Marseille’s Vieux Port. It didn’t take long for people to notice that the cannons were not aimed at the sea but rather inward toward the city’s feisty inhabitants. Later used as a prison and then as a military base, the 12-acre site was declared a historic monument in 1969, but sat mostly empty until 2003, when the city hired heritage architects and the collective ACTA VISTA—which employs people in precarity to learn important skills on the job—to restore the structure. The fort is now open year-round, and you can stop by its café for a coffee or gourmet snack, the perfect accompaniments to eye-popping views of the port, esplanade, and city beyond. An exciting program of open-air theatre and live concerts is held here from May to October. 

Occupying a colorful three-story industrial space that recalls the Pompidou Center, this ambitious science museum in Parc de la Villette is packed with things to do—all of them accessible to English speakers. Scores of exhibits focus on subjects like space, transportation, and technology. Hands-on workshops keep the kids entertained, and the planetarium is invariably a hit. Temporary exhibitions are always multilingual and usually interactive.