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Plage Publique des Ponchettes
If you dont like sand between your toes, Nices beaches - covered with smooth, round pebbles - are for you. Free public sections of beach with lifeguards, first-aid posts and cold showers alternate with 15 private beaches equipped with restaurants, comfy sun-lounges (obligatory; at
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Citadelle Souterraine
Comprising 7km of underground galleries, this cavernous subterranean citadel was designed by military engineer Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban in the 17th century and completed in 1838. In 1916 it was turned into an impregnable command centre in which 10,000 poilus (French WWI soldi
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Fondation Maeght
Created in 1964 by Aimé and Marguerite Maeght, this fabulous museum has one of Europes largest collections of 20th-century art. Works are exhibited on a rotating basis; along with the excellent temporary exhibitions, this means you rarely see the same piece twice. The museum is 500
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Walt Disney Studios Park
The sound stage, production backlot and animation studios provide an up-close illustration of how films, TV programs and cartoons are produced, with behind-the-scenes tours, larger-than-life characters and spine-tingling rides like the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror. Its latest addi
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Train à Vapeur des Cévennes
Chugging along a 13km stretch of track between St-Jean du Gard and Anduze, this fabulous old steam train follows an old line through the Gardon Valley, which was in operation between 1909 and 1971. Now restored by enthusiasts, it’s a marvellous way to see the scenery, traversing se
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La Maison de Lapérouse
Next door to the Musée Toulouse-Lautrec, this mansion belonged to the Albi-born explorer Jean-François de Galaup (aka the Comte de Lapérouse), who made several pioneering naval expeditions around the Pacific between 1785 and 1789. Mysteriously, his ships disappeared without trace t
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Cité Internationale de la Dentelle et de la Mode
Enter the intricate world of lace-making, the industry that once made Calais a textile powerhouse. The informative, cutting-edge exhibits trace the history of lace from the early centuries of hand-knotting (some stunning samples are on display). The highlight is watching a century-
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Cité de la Musique
The Cité de la Musique, on the southern edge of Parc de la Villette, is a striking, triangular-shaped concert hall whose mission is to introduce music from around the world to Parisians. The Musée de la Musique inside displays some 900 rare musical instruments; you can hear many of
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Plage dArcachon
In the Ville dÉté (Summer Quarter), Arcachons sandy beach, Plage dArcachon , is flanked by two piers. Lively Jetée Thiers is at the western end. In front of the eastern pier, Jetée dEyrac , stands the towns turreted Casino de la Plage . The sheltered basin in which Arcachon sits me
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Grande Galerie de l’Évolution
The highlight of the Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle for kids is the Grande Galerie de l’Évolution with imaginative exhibits on evolution and humankind’s effect on the global ecosystem. Rare specimens of endangered and extinct species dominate the Salle des Espèces Menacées et
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Forêt de Venasque
The Forêt de Venasque, criss-crossed by walking trails (including long-distance GR91), lies east of Venasque. Cross the Col de Murs mountain pass (627m) to pretty little Murs, and see remains of Le Mur de la Peste (the Plague Wall), built in 1720 in a vain attempt to stop the plagu
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Musée des Lettres et Manuscrits
Grouped into five themes – history, science, music, art and literature – the handwritten and annotated letters and works on display at this captivating museum provide a powerful emotional connection to their authors. They include Napoléon, Charles de Gaulle, Marie Curie, Albert Ein
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Le Mans Museum
During the second week of June each year, race car aficionados converge on Le Mans (population 147,687) to watch this careening, 24-hour endurance race. Corvettes, Porsches, Ferraris and myriad other souped-up speedsters whip around the 13.629km Circuit de la Sarthe track at the wo
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Villa
His paintings shocked and titillated 18th-century France with their licentious love scenes. See why inside this wonderful villa where controversial Grasse-born artist Jean-Honoré Fragonard (1732–1806) stayed for a year in 1790 with his cousin, perfume merchant Alexandre Maubert (17
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Château des Baux
Crowning the village of Les Baux, these dramatic maze-like ruins date to the 10th century. The clifftop castle was largely destroyed in 1633, during the reign of Louis XIII, and is a thrilling place to explore – particularly for rambunctious kids. Climb crumbling towers for incredi
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Mémorial Charles de Gaulle
The impressive Mémorial Charles de Gaulle , opened in 2008, whose graphic, easily digestible exhibits, rich in photos, form an admiring biography of France’s greatest modern statesman. Displays help visitors untangle such complicated mid-20th-century events as the Algerian war and
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Musée de la Vie Romantique
This small museum is dedicated to two artists active during the Romantic era: the writer George Sand and the painter Ary Scheffer. Located at the end of a film-worthy cobbled lane, the villa housing the museum originally belonged to Scheffer and was the setting for popular salons o
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Le Village Troglodytique de la Madeleine
Many of the Vézère’s caves were used for storage, defence or protection as recently as the Middle Ages. This cave village 8km northeast of Les Eyzies was carved from the cliff face above the Vézère River, and its lower level was occupied by prehistoric people 10,000 to 14,000 years
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Roquebrune
The medieval chunk of Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, Roquebrune sits 300m high on a pudding-shaped lump crowned by 10th-century Château de Roquebrune – an atmospheric place with simple but evocative props of life in medieval times. Of all the steep and tortuous streets leading up to the ch
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Bastide St
Beneath Carcassonne’s fortified castle, on the left bank of the River Aude, is the city’s second half, Ville Basse. It’s a mostly modern town that conceals a medieval heart: the Bastide St-Louis, which was built during the 13th century, using the characteristic grid of streets set
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