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Abbatiale de la Ste
Built from 1175 to 1220 by Richard the Lionheart, towering Abbatiale de la Ste-Trinité was the most important pilgrimage site in Normandy until the construction of Mont St-Michel, thanks to the drops of Jesus’ blood that, legend has it, miraculously floated to Fécamp in the trunk o
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Musée de la Mer
This splendid little museum charts the Paimpol regions maritime history and is, rather appropriately, set in a former cod-drying factory. Its a treasure-trove of nautical artefacts, from seine nets and canvas sails to vintage posters and fishing outfits.
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Musée des Charmettes
Geneva-born philosopher, composer and writer Jean-Jacques Rousseau, a key figure of the Enlightenment and the French Revolution, lived with his lover, Baronne Louise Éléonore de Warens, at this charming, late-17th-century country house from 1736 to 1742. His passion for botany live
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Petit Palais
Like the Grand Palais opposite, this architectural stunner was also built for the 1900 Exposition Universelle, and is home to the Paris municipality’s Museum of Fine Arts, the Musée des Beaux-Arts de la Ville de Paris. It specialises in medieval and Renaissance objets d’art such as
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L’Unité d’Habitation
Visionary international-style architect Le Corbusier redefined urban living in 1952 with the completion of his vertical 337-apartment ‘garden city’, also known as La Cité Radieuse (The Radiant City). Today mostly private apartments, it also houses a hotel, Hôtel Le Corbusier , the
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Thermes du Mont
Long before anyone thought of hurtling down the hillsides strapped to a pair of wooden planks, Le Mont-Dore was frequented for its hot springs, which bubble out between 37°C and 40°C. The first bathers were the cleanliness-obsessed Romans – you can still see traces of their origina
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Musée de l’Ancien Évêché
The 13th-century Bishops’ Palace , next to Italianate Cathédrale Notre Dame , now houses a rich collection of well-selected objects tracing area history from the time of the Neanderthals to the early 20th century. Underneath place Notre-Dame you can see part of Roman Grenobles 3rd-
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Parc Montsouris
The name of this sprawling lakeside park – planted with horse-chestnut, yew, cedar, weeping beech and buttonwood trees – derives from moque souris (mice mockery) because the area was once overrun with rodents. Today it’s a delightful spot for a picnic, and has endearing playground
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Espace de l’Art Concret
Modern-art and architecture lovers shouldn’t miss Mouans-Sartoux contemporary-art centre, housed in the 16th-century Château de Mouans and the purpose-built Donation Albers-Honegger extension, a brilliant and brilliantly controversial lime-green concrete block ferociously clashing
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Château de Foix
The Ariège’s most unmistakeable landmark is Foix’s triple-towered castle, the stronghold of the powerful Comtes de Foix. Built in the 10th century, it survived as their seat as power throughout the medieval era, and served as a prison from the 16th century onwards.The castle is app
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Musée des Augustins
Like most big French cities, Toulouse has a fabulous fine arts museum. Located within a former Augustinian monastery, it spans the centuries from the Roman era through to the early 20th century. The highlights are the French rooms, with Delacroix, Ingres and Courbet representing th
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Musées Gadagne
Housed in a 16th-century mansion built for two rich Florentine bankers, this twin-themed exhibition space incorporates an excellent local history museum (Musée dHistoire de Lyon) chronicling the city’s layout as its silk-weaving, cinema and transportation evolved, and an internatio
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Musée du Mariage
Featuring colourful and often gaudy objects associated with 19th-century marriage traditions, highlights include a tableau of newlyweds in their nuptial bed – but they’re not alone, for they’ve been woken up early by family and friends bearing Champagne, chocolate and broad smiles.
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Pointe de Pen
Three kilometres south of Camaret, this is a spectacular headland bounded by steep, sheer sea cliffs, with two WWII memorials. On a pensinsula full of breathtaking scenery this might be the most impressive lookout of them all. The series of offshore rock stacks are known as Tas de
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5bis Rue Verneuil (Serge Gainsbourgs Former Home)
Faubourg St-Germains finest example of timeless extravagance is the house where Parisian singer, sexpot and provocateur Serge Gainsbourg lived from 1969 until his death in 1991. Its still owned by his daughter, actor/singer Charlotte Gainsbourg; tours had been mooted but as yet hav
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Chapelle Cocteau
This was one of the last pieces of work embarked upon by Jean Cocteau (1889–1963), best known for the fishermens chapel he decorated in Villefranche-sur-Mer. Cocteau began work on Chapelle Notre Dame in Fréjus in 1961, but it remained incomplete until the artists legal heir, Édouar
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Clocher Neuf
A visit to the 112m-high Clocher Neuf, also known as the Tour Nord (North Tower), is worth the ticket price and the climb up the long spiral stairway (350 steps). Access is just behind the cathedral bookshop. A 70m-high platform on the lacy flamboyant Gothic spire, built from 1507
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Maison de Jeanne d’Arc
The best place to get an overview of Joan of Arc’s life story is this reconstruction of the 15th-century house that hosted her between April and May 1429 (the original was destroyed by British bombing in 1940). Start with its main feature: a 15-minute movie (in French or English) t
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Cap Blanc
Southwest of Calais, the coastal dunes give way to cliffs that culminate in windswept, 134m-high Cap Blanc-Nez, which affords breathtaking views of the Bay of Wissant, the port of Calais, the Flemish countryside (pock-marked by Allied bomb craters) and the distant cliffs of Kent. T
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Musée de la Lavande
To get to grips with Provences most prestigious crop, this excellent eco-museum makes an ideal first stop. An audioguide and video (in English) explain the lavender harvest, and giant copper stills reveal extraction methods. Afterwards you can take a guided tour of the fields at 1p
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