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Aquarium de Paris Cinéaqua
Paris’ aquarium, on the eastern side of the Jardins du Trocadéro, has a shark tank and 500-odd fish species to entertain families on rainy days. Three cinemas screen ocean-related and other films (dubbed in French, with subtitles). Budget tip: show your ticket from the nearby Musée
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Cathédrale Notre Dame Crypt
The cathedrals 110m crypt, a tombless Romanesque structure built in 1024 around a 9th-century predecessor, is the largest in France. Tours in French (with a written English translation) lasting 30 minutes start at La Crypte, the cathedral-run shop selling souvenirs, from April to O
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Savonnerie Marius Fabre
From the turn of the 20th century until the 1950s, soap was a buoyant business thanks to Salon’s abundance of olive oil and the exotic palm and copra oils that arrived in nearby Marseille from the French colonies. Run by three generations of the same family, the Savonnerie Marius F
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Mémorial du Souvenir
To get a feel for the 1940 evacuation of Dunkirk, drop by the not-for-profit Mémorial du Souvenir, staffed by dedicated volunteers with personal ties to this period in history. Highlights include a 12-minute film, scale models and evocative period uniforms, weapons, photos and an e
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Musée Édith Piaf
This private museum in Ménilmontant, some 1.5km from the birthplace of the iconic singer Édith Piaf and closer to her final resting place in Cimetière du Père Lachaise, follows the life and career of the ‘urchin sparrow’ through memorabilia, recordings, personal objects, letters an
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Musée d’Histoire de Marseille
In a completely renovated, 15,000-sq-metre modern space within the Centre Bourse shopping mall, this museum offers fascinating insight into Marseille’s long history. Highlights include the remains of a 3rd-century-AD merchant vessel, discovered in the Vieux Port in 1974. To preserv
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Musée Dapper
Focused on African and Caribbean art, this jewel of a museum is an invitation to leave Paris behind for an hour or two. Exhibits rotate throughout the year, but the permanent collection is superb: ritual and festival masks and costumes accompanied by several video presentations. Th
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Musée Vivant du Cheval
The Grandes Écuries (Grand Stables), built between 1719 and 1740 to house 240 horses and more than 400 hounds, stand west of the château near Chantillys famous hippodrome (racecourse), inaugurated in 1834. The stables house the Musée Vivant du Cheval, included in domain and show pa
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Mont Aigoual Observatory
About 60km south of Florac is the prominent peak of Mont Aigoual (1567m), which is topped by a lofty observatory, built in 1894. Inside, you can learn the science behind weather forecasting and cloud formation, but most people visit to enjoy the wraparound views of the central Céve
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Cité de l’Automobile
An ode to the automobile, the striking glass-and-steel museum showcases 400 rare and classic motors, from old-timers like the Bugatti Royale to Formula 1 dream machines. There’s a kiddie corner for would-be mechanics. By car, hop off the A36 at the Mulhouse Centre exit. By public t
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Château de Peyrepertuse
Peyrepertuse is the largest of the Cathar castles, teetering on a sheer spur of rock with a drop of 800m on either side. Several of the original towers and many sections of ramparts are still standing. In mid-August, the castle holds falconry displays and a two-day medieval festiva
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La Boisserie
People flock by the coachload to visit Charles de Gaulle’s vine-swathed home, La Boisserie, its elegant antique furnishings unchanged since he was laid to rest in the village-centre cimetière (churchyard). Tours (English brochure available; price included in admission) begin at the
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Le Donjon des Aigles
Fifteen minutes’ drive south of Lourdes in the spectacular surroundings of the 11th-century Château de Beaucens, you can see one of the world’s largest collections of birds of prey. Among the taloned residents are bald eagles, fish eagles, horned owls, vultures and a collection of
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Caves Monmousseau
Sitting quietly under a dramatic 12th-century donjon (keep), Montrichard, 9km east of Chenonceau, offers a fizzy pit stop. Just outside town, the 15km-long Caves Monmousseau are carved into the tufa stone: a perfect 12°C environment for the local crémant (sparkling wine). A 45-minu
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Musée dArt Moderne, dArt Contemporain et dArt Brut – LaM
Colourful, playful and just plain weird works of modern and contemporary art by masters such as Braque, Calder, Léger, Miró, Modigliani and Picasso are the big draw at this renowned museum and sculpture park in the Lille suburb of Villeneuve-dAscq, 9km east of Gare Lille-Europe. Ta
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Musée Bourdelle
Monumental bronzes fill the house and workshop where sculptor Antoine Bourdelle (1861–1929), a pupil of Rodin, lived and worked. The three sculpture gardens are particularly lovely, with a flavour of belle époque and post-WWI Montparnasse. The museum usually has a temporary exhibit
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Musée du Vin
The Wine Museum, headquarters of the prestigious International Federation of Wine Brotherhoods, introduces visitors to the fine art of viticulture with mock-ups and tool displays. End museum visits with a glass of AOP wine (€5) or a two-hour wine-tasting workshops (€63). If you lun
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Jardin Public
Landscaping is artistic as well as informative at the Jardin Public. Established in 1755 and laid out in the English style a century later, the grounds incorporate the meticulously catalogued Jardin Botanique , founded in 1629 and at this site since 1855. With its duck ponds and sh
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Place Drouet d’Erlon
Reims’ pedestrianised main square draws locals in the mood for a bite, a beer or a bit of shopping. Its centrepiece is the Subé Fountain , built in 1907 and crowned by a gleaming gold statue of Winged Victory. The 12th- to 14th-century Église St-Jacques is the city’s only remaining
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Château du Barroux
Built in the 12th century to protect Le Barroux from Saracen invaders, Château du Barroux is one of Provences few castles. Its fortunes rose and fell, but its last indignity was in WWII, when retreating Germans set it ablaze – it burned for 10 days. Only ghosts remain, but its grea
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