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Bibliothèque Nationale de France
With four glass towers shaped like half-open books, the 1995-opened National Library of France was one of President Mitterand’s most ambitious and costliest grands projets . Some 12 million tomes are stored on 420km of shelves and the library can accommodate 2000 readers and 2000 r
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Cité de l’Espace
This fantastic space museum on the citys eastern outskirts explores Toulouses illustrious aeronautical history, which dates back to WWI when the city was a hub for mail flights to Africa and South America. Since WWII, Toulouse has been the centre of Frances aerospace industry, deve
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Vauban Fortifications
Three centuries ago, Briançon – situated at the confluence of five river valleys – was highly vulnerable to attack by Frances Alpine arch-rival of the era, the Duchy of Savoy. Under Louis XIV and his successors, vast effort was expended on constructing hilltop fortresses to defend
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Château d’Azay
Romantic, moat-ringed Azay-le-Rideau is wonderfully adorned with slender turrets, geometric windows and decorative stonework, wrapped up within a shady landscaped park. Built in the 1500s on a natural island in the middle of the River Indre, the château is one of the Loire’s loveli
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Aiguilles de Bavella
The Col de Bavella (Bavella Pass) is overlooked by the imposing silhouette of one of the most striking and beautiful landscape features in the south of Corsica: the sharp points of Aiguilles de Bavella, also called the Bavella Needles. If youre lucky you may spot a few of the moufl
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Abbaye
Caen’s most important medieval site is the Men’s Abbey – now city hall – and, right next door, the magnificent, multi-turreted Église St-Étienne (St Stephen’s Church), known for its Romanesque nave, Gothic choir and William the Conqueror’s rebuilt tomb (the original was destroyed b
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Hôtel de Ville
Arras Flemish-Gothic city hall dates from the 16th century but was completely rebuilt after WWI. Three giants occupy the lobby. For a panoramic view, hop on a lift (plus 43 stairs) to the first floor of the Unesco World Heritage–listed, 75m-high belfry , or for a truly unique persp
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The Village
Strolling the narrow streets is how most visitors pass time in St-Paul. The village has been beautifully preserved and the panoramas from the ramparts are stunning. The main artery, rue Grande, is lined with art galleries . The highest point in the village is occupied by the Église
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Musée Jacquemart
If you belonged to the cream of Parisian society in the late 19th century, chances are you would have been invited to one of the dazzling soirées held at this mansion. The home of art collectors Nélie Jacquemart and Édouard André, this opulent residence was designed in the then-fas
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Fort de la Bastille
The Plexiglas spheres of the Téléphérique Grenoble-Bastille whisk you from the south bank of the Isère up to this massive hilltop fortress, built to defend France against its great Alpine rival of the early 1800s, the Duchy of Savoy. When Savoy was annexed to France in 1860, the fo
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Beaumont
This evocative memorial preserves part of the Western Front in the state it was in at fightings end. The zigzag trench system, which still fills with mud in winter, is clearly visible, as are countless shell craters and the remains of barbed-wire barriers. A path leads to an orient
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Château de Vaux
The privately owned Château de Vaux-le-Vicomte and its fabulous formal gardens, 20km north of Fontainebleau and 61km southeast of Paris, were designed and built by Le Brun, Le Vau and Le Nôtre between 1656 and 1661 as a precursor to their more ambitious work at Versailles.The châte
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Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle
Despite the name, the Natural History Museum is not a single building, but a collection of sites throughout France. Its historic home is in the Jardin des Plantes, and its here youll find the greatest number of branches: taxidermied animals in the excellent Grande Galerie de lÉvolu
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Futuroscope
Futuristic theme park Futuroscope takes you whizzing through space, diving into the deep-blue ocean depths, and racing around city streets and on a close encounter with creatures of the future, among many other space-age cinematic experiences. To keep things cutting edge, one-third
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Château d’Ussé
The main claim to fame of elaborate Château d’Ussé is as the inspiration for Charles Perrault’s classic fairy tale, La Belle au Bois Dormant (known to English-speakers as Sleeping Beauty ).Ussé’s creamy white towers and slate roofs jut out from the edge of the forest of Chinon, off
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Basilique du Sacré
Although some may poke fun at Sacré-Cœur’s unsubtle design, the view from its parvis is one of those perfect Paris postcards. More than just a basilica, Sacré-Cœur is a veritable experience, from the musicians performing on the steps to the groups of friends picnicking on the hills
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Forum des Halles
Paris main wholesale food market stood here for nearly 800 years before being replaced by this underground shopping mall in 1971. Four floors of stores extend down to the citys busiest metro hub, while a massive renovation project – with an enormous golden-hued translucent canopy a
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Pointe du Hoc Ranger Memorial
At 7.10am on 6 June 1944, 225 US Army Rangers under the command of Lieutenant Colonel James Earl Rudder scaled the impossibly steep, 30m-high cliffs of Pointe du Hoc. Their objective was to disable five 155mm German artillery guns perfectly placed to rain shells onto the beaches of
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Abbaye de Cîteaux
Out in the midst of pastoral mustard fields, south of Dijon and 13km east of Nuits-St-Georges, this original abbey of the Cistercian monks was founded in 1098. Nowadays you can visit the monastery on a 1½-hour guided tour in French, with printed English commentary. Tours depart hou
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Maison et Jardins de Claude Monet
Monet’s home for the last 43 years of his life is now a delightful house-museum. His pastel-pink house and Water Lily studio stand on the periphery of the Clos Normand , with its symmetrically laid-out gardens bursting with flowers. Monet bought the Jardin d’Eau (Water Garden) in 1
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