-
Sanctuaires Notre Dame de Lourdes
The spiritual centre of Lourdes is the subterranean grotto where Bernadette Soubirous experienced her visions in 1858. From the Porte St-Joseph , a broad boulevard sweeps towards the gilded spires of the Basilique du Rosaire and the Basilique Supérieure .Underneath is the fabled Gr
-
Palais Garnier
The fabled ‘phantom of the opera’ lurked in this opulent opera house designed in 1860 by Charles Garnier (then an unknown 35-year-old architect). You can reserve a spot on an English-language guided tour or take an unguided tour the attached museum, with posters, costumes, backdrop
-
Montagne Ste
East of Aix towers Cézanne’s favourite haunt, the magnificent silvery ridge of Montagne Ste-Victoire, its dry slopes carpeted in garrigue (scented scrub), lush pine forests, burnt-orange soil and Coteaux d’Aix-en-Provence vineyards. Many hike the mountains north side, but the south
-
Cité de la Mer
Cherbourg’s art deco Gare Maritime Transatlantique (Transatlantic Ferry Terminal), built from 1928 to 1933, was designed so travellers could walk from their train directly to their ocean liner. These days it is still used by cruise ships such as the Queen Mary 2 but most of the com
-
St
North of the cathedral, Périgueux’ broad boulevards give way to a tangle of cobblestone streets lined with medieval houses. The best examples are along rue du Plantier, rue de la Sagesse, rue de la Miséricorde and rue Aubergerie, and many are marked with French/English placards.Rue
-
Sanctuaires
The Sanctuaires are seven beautiful 12th- to 14th-century chapels built into the rockface and surrounding a central courtyard. You can see worn stones where pilgrims cycled between the churches. Chapelle Notre Dame is the highlight, containing the magical Vierge Noire (Black Madonn
-
Grotte de Rouffignac
Hidden in pretty woodland 15km north of Les Eyzies, this enormous tri-level cave is one of the most complex and rewarding to see in the Dordogne. Board an electric train to explore a 1km maze of tunnels in the massive cavern plunging 8km into the earth.Highlights include the frieze
-
Cathédrale St
Not part of the château circuit, bustling Bourges has preserved its history with its maze of wonderful-to-explore narrow medieval cobblestone streets and its massively impressive Cathédrale St-Étienne. Henri de Sully began work on the Gothic masterpiece in 1195; the second stage of
-
Medieval Figeac
Enter the historic centre of Figeac at place Vival, where the tourist office and a history museum occupy the Hôtel de la Monnaie , an arcaded 13th-century building where money was exchanged. Purchase their excellent leaflet Les Clefs de la Ville (€0.30) for a guide to Figeac’s medi
-
Basilique St
This 121m-long former Benedictine abbey church, a Unesco World Heritage Site, mixes Romanesque elements from the mid-11th century (the worn but stunning nave and transept) with early Gothic features from the latter half of the 12th century (the choir, with a large triforium gallery
-
Château de Castelnaud
The massive ramparts and metre-thick crenellated walls of this quintessential medieval fortress (occupied by the English during the Hundred Years War) contain an elaborate museum of medieval warfare with displays of daggers, spiked halberds, archaic cannons and enormous crossbows.
-
Chantier Médiéval de Guédelon
Chantier Médiéval de Guédelon is 45km southwest of Auxerre and 7km southwest of St-Sauveur-en-Puisaye. A team of skilled artisans, aided by archaeologists, has been hard at work building a fortified castle here since 1997 using only 13th-century techniques. No electricity or power
-
Musée des Civilisations de l’Europe et de la Méditerranée
The icon of modern Marseille, this stunning museum explores the history, culture and civilisation of the Mediterranean region through anthropological exhibits, rotating art exhibitions and film. The collection sits in a bold, contemporary building, J4 , designed by Algerian-born, M
-
Ville Ancienne
Chambéry has one of the best-preserved medieval old towns this side of the Alps. Its hidden courtyards, cafe-rimmed squares and lanes flanked by tall, shuttered townhouses are great for an aimless amble. Streets worth wandering include tiny rue du Sénat de Savoie , cobbled rue Juiv
-
Le Mémorial – Un Musée pour la Paix
For an insightful and vivid account of the Battle of Normandy, the best place to head is Le Mémorial, one of Europe’s premier WWII museums. It’s a hugely impressive affair, using sound, lighting, film, animation and audio testimony, as well as a range of original artefacts, to grap
-
Château Royal d’Amboise
Elegantly tiered on a rocky escarpment above town, this easily defendable castle presented a formidable prospect to would-be attackers – but saw little military action. It was more often a weekend getaway from the official royal seat at Blois. Charles VIII (r 1483–98), born and bre
-
Château d’Angers
This impressive black-stone château, formerly the seat of power for the counts and dukes of Anjou, looms above the river, ringed by battlements and 17 watchtowers. The star of the show is the stunning Tenture de l’Apocalypse (Apocalypse tapestry), a 104m-long series of tapestries c
-
Vieux Nice
Nice’s old town, an atmospheric mellow-hued rabbit warren, has scarcely changed since the 1700s, and getting lost in it is a highlight. Cue cours Saleya : this joyous, thriving market square hosts a well-known flower market and a thriving food market , a staple of local life. A fle
-
Pic du Midi
If the Pyrenees has a mustn’t-miss view, it’s the one from the Pic du Midi de Bigorre (2877m). Once accessible only to mountaineers, since 1878 the Pic du Midi has been home to an important observatory, and on a clear day the sky-top mountain views are out of this world. A cable ca
-
Cathédrale Ste
In a country of jaw-dropping churches, the Cathédrale Ste-Croix still raises a gasp. Towering above place Ste-Croix, Orléans’ Flamboyant Gothic cathedral was originally built in the 13th century and then underwent collective tinkering by successive monarchs. Joan of Arc came and pr
Total
2022 -travel
FirstPage PreviousPage NextPage LastPage CurrentPage:
99/102 20-travel/Page GoTo Page:
