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Australian National War Memorial
The names of 10,982 Australian soldiers whose remains were never found are engraved on the base of the 32m-high memorial, one of the most imposing WWI monuments in the Somme, 2km north of Villers-Bretonneux along the D23. For the full effect, climb up to the viewing platform. In fr
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Musée National dArt Moderne
France’s national collection of modern art – almost 75,000 works in all – fills the bright and airy, well-lit galleries of the National Museum of Modern Art covering two complete floors of the Pompidou. All the major movements and artists of modern art (from 1905 to 1960) are well
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Château de Castelnau
Not to be confused with the Château de Castelnaud, Castelnau-Bretenoux was constructed in the 12th century and saw heavy action during the Hundred Years War, before being redeveloped in the Middle Ages for newer forms of artillery. It is beautifully (and strategically) set on a pro
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Château de Brissac
The tallest castle in France, the Château de Brissac comprises seven storeys and 204 rooms. Built by the Duke of Brissac in 1502, and still owned by the family, it is one of the most luxuriously outfitted castles in the Loire, with a riot of posh furniture, ornate tapestries, twink
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Abbaye de Fontfroide
Founded by the Cistercian monks in 1093, Fontfroide Abbey became one of southern France’s most powerful ecclesiastical centres during the Middle Ages. It was heavily damaged during the Revolution, but was purchased in 1908 by the French painter Gustave Fayet and his wife Madeleine,
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Palais des Festivals et des Congrès
Posing for a selfie on the 22 steps leading up to the main entrance to this concrete bunker – unlikely host to the world’s most glamorous film festival – at the western end of La Croisette is a Cannes essential. Afterwards, wander along the Allée des Étoiles du Cinéma , a footpath
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Les Calanques
The Côte Bleue has a precious trove of calanques which compete with the famous calanques between Marseille and Cassis. At Calanque de Niolon , 12km west of L’Estaque, rocky spurs ensnare the perilously perched village of Niolon. Further west is the clustered trio of La Redonne , Le
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Musée de la Monnaie de Paris
Due to have reopened after extensive renovations by the time youre reading this, the Parisian Mint Museum traces the history of French coinage from antiquity onwards, with displays that help to bring to life this otherwise niche subject. It’s housed in the 18th-century royal mint,
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Docks en Seine
Framed by a lurid-lime wave-like glass facade, a transformed Seine-side warehouse now houses the French fashion institute, the Institut Français de la Mode (hence the docks alternative name, Cité de la Mode et du Design), mounting fashion and design exhibitions and events throughou
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Village des Tortues
About 20km north of Collobrières, this sanctuary protects one of France’s most endangered species, the Hermann tortoise (Testudo hermanni ). Once common along the Mediterranean coast, it is today found only in the Massif des Maures and on Corsica. In summer the best time to see the
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Phare de Verzenay
For the region’s best introduction to the art of growing grapes and the cycles of the seasons, head to the Phare de Verzenay , on a hilltop at the eastern edge of the village. Exactly 101 spiral stairs lead to the top of the lighthouse, constructed as a publicity stunt in 1909, whi
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Natzweiler
About 25km west of Obernai stands Natzweiler-Struthof, the only Nazi concentration camp on French territory. Today, the sombre remains of the camp are still surrounded by guard towers and concentric, once-electrified, barbed-wire fences. The four crématoire (crematorium ovens), the
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Cité de lOcéan
We dont really know whether its fair to call the Cité de lOcéan a mere museum. At heart its simply a museum of the ocean but this is entertainment, cutting-edge technology, theme park and science museum all rolled into one. During a visit you will learn all you ever wanted to know
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Musée dArt et dHistoire de Provence
This local-history museum, at home since 1921 in an aristocratic hôtel particulier (mansion), is a wonderful evocation of life in the 18th century. Rooms are laid out pretty much as they were when the marquise of Clapiers-Cabris lived here – he loathed his mother, who lived opposit
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Ville Close (Walled City)
The walled town, fortified in the 14th century and modified by the architect Vauban two centuries later, huddles on a small island linked to place Jean Jaurès by a stone footbridge. Just past the citadels clock tower , look out for the 18th-century Maison du Gouverneur above the ma
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Quartier Impérial
The stately boulevards and bourgeois villas of the German Imperial Quarter, including rue Gambetta and av Foch, are the brainchild of Kaiser Wilhelm II. Philippe Starck lamp-posts juxtapose Teutonic sculptures, whose common theme is German imperial might, at the monumental Rhenish
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Musée Rodin
Sculptor, painter, sketcher, engraver and collector Auguste Rodin donated his entire collection to the French state in 1908 on the proviso that they dedicate his former workshop and showroom, the beautiful 1730 Hôtel Biron, to displaying his works. They’re now installed not only in
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Rivière Souterraine de Labouiche
Deep beneath the village of Labouiche, 6km northwest of Foix, flows Europe’s longest navigable underground river. Discovered in 1908 by a local doctor, it’s been open to the public since 1938. Barge trips run for about 1.5km along its underground course, with guides pulling the boa
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Musée Lalique
A stunning, romantic tribute to French art nouveau designer René Lalique, the Musée Lalique harbours a collection assembling exquisite gem-encrusted and enamelled jewellery, perfume bottles, stoppers and sculpture. Complementing it are flower and wooded gardens, making the connecti
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En
East of Calanque de Morgiou, the stone-sculptured coast brings you to three remote calanques : En-Vau, Port-Pin and Port-Miou. Calanque d’En-Vau has a pebbly beach and emerald waters encased by cliffs. Its entrance is guarded by the Doigt de Dieu (God’s Finger), a giant rock pinnac
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