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Basilique de St
Once one of the most sacred sites in the country, this basilica was built atop the tomb of St Denis, the 3rd-century martyr and alleged 1st bishop of Paris who was beheaded by Roman priests. A popular pilgrimage site, by the sixth century it had become the royal necropolis: all but
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Promenade Plantée
The disused 19th-century Vincennes railway viaduct was successfully reborn as the worlds first elevated park, planted with a fragrant profusion of cherry trees, maples, rose trellises, bamboo corridors and lavender. Three storeys above ground, it provides a unique aerial vantage po
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Hôtel des Invalides
Fronted by the 500m-long Esplanade des Invalides lawns, the Hôtel des Invalides was built in the 1670s by Louis XIV to house 4000 invalides (disabled war veterans). On 14 July 1789, a mob broke into the building and seized 32,000 rifles before heading on to the prison at Bastille a
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Jardin du Palais Royal
The Jardin du Palais Royal is a perfect spot to sit, contemplate, and picnic between boxed hedges or shop in the trio of arcades that frame the garden so beautifully: the Galerie de Valois (east), Galerie de Montpensier (west) and Galerie Beaujolais. However, its the southern end o
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Les Arts Décoratifs
A trio of privately administered collections – Applied Arts, Advertising and Fashion & Textiles – sit in the Rohan Wing of the vast Palais du Louvre. They are collectively known as the Decorative Arts; admission includes entry to all three. For an extra €2, you can scoop up a c
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Château de Versailles Gardens & Park
The section of the vast gardens nearest the palace, laid out between 1661 and 1700 in the formal French style, is famed for its geometrically aligned terraces, flowerbeds, tree-lined paths, ponds and fountains. The 400-odd statues of marble, bronze and lead were made by the most ta
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Musée d’Orsay
Recently renovated to incorporate richly coloured walls and increased exhibition space, the home of France’s national collection from the impressionist, postimpressionist and art nouveau movements spanning the 1840s and 1914 is the glorious former Gare d’Orsay railway station – its
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Aiguille du Midi
A jagged finger of rock soaring above glaciers, snowfields and rocky crags, 8km from the hump of Mont Blanc, the Aiguille du Midi (3842m) is one of Chamonix’ most distinctive geographical features. If you can handle the altitude, the 360-degree views of the French, Swiss and Italia
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Normandy American Cemetery & Memorial
White marble crosses and Stars of David stretch off in seemingly endless rows at the Normandy American Cemetery, situated on a now-serene bluff overlooking the bitterly contested sands of Omaha Beach. The visitor center has an excellent multimedia presentation on the D-Day landings
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Lyon Confluence
Meet Lyons newest neighbourhood: the Confluence, where the Rhône and the Saône meet at Presquîle’s southern tip. This former industrial wasteland has recently been brought back to life by a multimillion-euro urban renewal project, recognized for its cutting-edge, environmentally su
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Château de Chaumont
Set on a defensible bluff with sweeping views along the Loire, Chaumont-sur-Loire presents an elegantly streamlined medieval face, with its cylindrical corner turrets and sturdy drawbridge, though its interior furnishings date almost exclusively from the 19th century. At least two
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Château de Versailles
Amid magnificently landscaped formal gardens, this splendid and enormous palace was built in the mid-17th century during the reign of Louis XIV – the Roi Soleil (Sun King) – to project the absolute power of the French monarchy, which was then at the height of its glory. The château
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Château de Chantilly
A storybook vision surrounded by an artificial lake and magnificent gardens, the Château de Chantilly contains a superb collection of paintings within the Musée Condé.Left in a shambles after the Revolution, the greatly restored château consists of two attached buildings, the Petit
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Vimy Ridge Canadian National Historic Site
Vimy Ridge, 11km north of Arras, was the scene of some of the bloodiest and toughest trench warfare of WWI, with almost two full years of attacks. Of the 66,655 Canadians who died in WWI, 3598 lost their lives in April 1917 taking this 14km-long stretch. Its highest point – site of
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Fromelles (Pheasant Wood) Military Cemetery & Memorial Park
In Fromelles, about 20km west of Lille, this hexagonal cemetery – the first new Commonwealth cemetery in half a century – was dedicated on 19 July 2010 following the discovery of the mass graves of 250 Australian soldiers. Just 2km northwest, the Australian Memorial Park marks the
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Château de Villandry
Completed in 1756, one of the last major Renaissance châteaux to be built in the Loire Valley, Villandry is deservedly famous for what lies outside the château, not what lies within. Encircled by tall walls, the château’s glorious landscaped gardens (closing 30 minutes after the ch
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Château de Cheverny
Thought by many to be the most perfectly proportioned château of all, Cheverny represents the zenith of French classical architecture: the perfect blend of symmetry, geometry and aesthetic order. Since its construction between 1625 and 1634 by Jacques Hurault, an intendant to Louis
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Jardin du Luxembourg
This inner-city oasis of formal terraces, chestnut groves and lush lawns has a special place in Parisians hearts. Napoléon dedicated the 23 gracefully laid-out hectares of the Luxembourg Gardens to the children of Paris, and many residents spent their childhood prodding 1920s woode
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Centre de la Mémoire
On the afternoon of 10 June 1944, the little town of Oradour-sur-Glane, 21km northwest of Limoges, witnessed one of the worst Nazi war crimes committed on French soil. German lorries belonging to the SS Das Reich Division surrounded the town and ordered the population on to the mar
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La Cité
Carcassonne’s rampart-ringed fortress is one of the Languedoc’s most recognisable landmarks. Built on a steep spur of rock, it’s been used as a defensive stronghold for nigh on 2000 years. The fortified town is encircled by two sets of battlements and 52 stone towers, topped by dis
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