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Monument Juif
The only relic of Rouen’s medieval Jewish community, expelled by Philippe le Bel in 1306, is hidden underneath the staircase at the eastern end of the Palais de Justice courtyard. An impressive, stone-built Romanesque structure constructed around 1100, it is the oldest extant Jewis
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Château de Menthon
The thousand-year-old Château de Menthon-St-Bernard – one of the inspirations for Walt Disney’s Sleeping Beauty castle (so they say) – was birthplace of St Bernard in 1008. Tours of the medieval interior – courtesy of the 23rd generation of De Menthons to live here – take in tapest
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Fort Vaux
Located in crater-scarred countryside, 10km northeast of Verdun, this fort was constructed between 1881 and 1884. It was the second fort – Douaumont was the first – to fall in the Battle of Verdun, and became the site of bloodiest battle for two months. Weak with thirst, Major Rayn
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Basse Ville
Boulognes Basse Ville (Lower Town) is dominated by its fishing port . Hungry seagulls dive and squawk overhead as they survey the fishing boats and the poissonniers (fishmongers) selling freshly landed cabillaud (Atlantic cod), carrelet (plaice) and sole – Boulognes most important
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Les Berges de Seine
A breath of fresh air, this 2.3km-long riverside promenade is Parisians latest spot to run, cycle, skate, play board games or take part in a packed program of events . Equally its simply a great place to hang out – in a Zzz shipping-container hut (free by reservation at the informa
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Maquis Bernard Résistance Cemetery
Seven RAF men (the crew of a bomber shot down near here in 1944) and 21 résistants are buried in the neatly tended Maquis Bernard Résistance Cemetery. Its surrounded by the dense forests in which British paratroops operated with Free French forces. The nearby drop zone is marked wi
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Musée Historique
Trace Strasbourg’s history from its beginnings as a Roman military camp called Argentoratum at this engaging museum, housed in a 16th-century slaughterhouse. Highlights include a painting of the first-ever performance of La Marseillaise, France’s national anthem, which, despite its
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Opéra Bastille
One of the late President Mitterand’s pet projects, this 3400-seat venue was intended to strip opera of its elitist airs – hence the notable inauguration date of 13 July 1989, the eve of the 200th anniversary of the storming of the Bastille.There are 75-minute guided tours of the b
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Grande Mosquée de Strasbourg
Designed by Italian architect Paolo Portoghesi and opened in September 2012, Frances biggest mosque (1500 worshippers) sits on a bend in the River Ill and is topped by a copper dome and flanked by wings resembling a flower in bud. More than just another landmark, it took 20 years o
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Duché
This fortified château belonged to the House of Cressol, who were the Dukes of Uzès for more than 1000 years until the French Revolution. The building is a Renaissance wonder, with a majestic 16th-century facade showing the three orders of classical architecture (Ionic, Doric and C
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Musée Archéologique de St
The waters off St-Raphaël are home to the largest number of antique shipwrecks in France and the town has been at the forefront of marine archaeology ever since. You’ll therefore be able to see a 1928 Scuba system developed in St-Raphaël and the first commercial equipment developed
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Musée National Picasso La Guerre et la Paix
The backbone of this modern museum is the last great political composition of Picasso (1881–1973): the Chapelle La Guerre et La Paix (War and Peace Chapel), aka a collection of dramatic murals painted in 1952 on plywood panels and tacked to the walls of a disused 12th-century chape
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Château du Haut Kœnigsbourg
On its fairy-tale perch above vineyards and hills, the turreted red-sandstone Château du Haut Kœnigsbourg is worth the detour for the wraparound panorama from its ramparts, taking in the Vosges, the Black Forest and, on cloud-free days, the Alps. Audioguides delve into the turbulen
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Bois de Vincennes
In the southeastern corner of Paris, Vincennes Wood encompasses some 995 hectares. It is one of the ‘lungs’ of Paris. On its northern edge, Château de Vincennes is a bona fide royal château with massive fortifications and a moat. The château grounds can be strolled for free, but th
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Parc Naturel Régional des Marais du Cotentin et du Bessin
Inland from Utah Beach, to the south and southwest, is the 1480-sq-km Parc Naturel Régional des Marais du Cotentin et du Bessin, a vast expanse of waterways, marshes, moors and hedgerows. The Maison du Parc (visitor centre) is in Saint-Côme-du-Mont, 50km west of Bayeux just off the
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Musée Dauphinois
Occupying a 17th-century convent, this département -run museum focuses on the people, cultures, crafts and traditions of the Dauphiné highlands. One section traces the history of skiing, from the Stone Age through the time a century ago when skiers carved their own wooden skis to t
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Les Maisons Satie
Like no other museum you’ve ever seen, this complex captures the whimsical spirit of the eccentric avant-garde composer Erik Satie (1866–1925), who lived and worked in Honfleur and was born in one of the two half-timbered maisons Satie (Satie houses). Visitors wander through the ut
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Maison Louis XIV
Sitting on a pretty, pedestrianised square is the so-called Maison Louis XIV. Built in 1643 by a wealthy shipowner and furnished in period style, this is where Louis XIV lived out his last days of bachelorhood before marrying María Teresa. Half-hour guided tours (with English text)
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Le Volcan
Le Havre’s most conspicuous landmark, designed by Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer and opened in 1982, is also the city’s premier cultural venue. One look and you’ll understand how it got its name, which means ‘the volcano’. After extensive renovations the complex should reopen i
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Canal St
The tranquil, 4.5km-long Canal St-Martin was inaugurated in 1825 to provide a shipping link between the Seine and the northeastern Parisian suburbs. Emerging from below ground near place République, its shaded towpaths take you past locks, metal bridges and ordinary Parisian neighb
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