2 Best Sights in France

The last vestiges of Toulon’s medieval and Renaissance past can be seen in this once-decrepit maze of narrow streets, alleyways, and squares that lies just behind the port. A targeted urban renewal plan has largely restored this storied quartier around the bustling Rue des Arts district, home to dozens of small galleries, cafés, boutiques, vintage shops, and bars. It also features murals and sculptures, like the trompe l’oeil painting on the Rue Chevalier Paul depicting the saucy ladies of the night who inhabited the famous red light district—still referred to by locals as Chicago—that catered to the sailors who once flocked here.

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.