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Plage de Palombaggia
When it comes to wishing for the archetypal idyllic beach, its impossible to think past the immense Plage de Palombaggia. This is the Corsican paradise youve been daydreaming about: sparkling turquoise waters, long stretches of sand edged with pine trees and splendiferous views ove
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Fondation Victor Vasarely
This gallery, 4km west of the city, was designed by Hungarian optical-art innovator Victor Vasarely (1906–97). A masterpiece, its 16 interconnecting six-walled galleries were purpose built to display and reflect the patterning of the artists 44 acid-trip-ready, floor-to-ceiling geo
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Villa Majorelle
Close to the Musée de l’École de Nancy lies the whimsical Villa Majorelle, built by Henri Sauvage in 1901 and bearing the hallmark of Majorelle (furniture) and Gruber (stained glass). The centrepiece is Les Blés dining room with its vinelike stone fireplace. Advance telephone booki
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Fortresse de Polignac
Dramatically perched atop a volcanic dome just 5km northwest of Le Puy, this 11th-century castle was built by the powerful Polignac family, who once controlled access to the city from the north. Its ringed by a practically continuous wall dotted with lookout towers and a 32m-high r
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Musée Franco
In Villers-Bretonneux,17km east of Amiens via the D1029, this well-organised museum displays highly personal WWI Australiana including letters and photographs that evoke life on the Western Front. It is housed in a primary school that was built with funds donated by schoolchildren
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Château Royal
Collioure’s seaside castle was mostly built between 1276 and 1344 by the Counts of Roussillon and the Kings of Aragon, and was later occupied by the Majorcan court, although the outer wall was the work of Vauban in the 17th century. The interior displays are fairly unexciting, but
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Fresque des Lyonnais
Well-known Lyonnais peer out from this seven-storey mural, including loom inventor Joseph-Marie Jacquard (1752–1834), Renaissance poet Maurice Scève (c 1499–1560), superstar chef Paul Bocuse (b 1926), puppet Guignol, and the yellow-haired Little Prince, created by author/aviator An
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Musée des Automates
A treat for kids (and kids-at-heart) is the Musée des Automates, a small theme-park-style display showing 300 automated dolls from the last two centuries, including a near-life-size recreation of bygone Montmartre in Paris, right down to the Moulin Rouge and the funicular railway.
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Parc des Oiseaux
La Dombes teems with wildlife, particularly waterfowl. Observe local and exotic birds, including dozens of pairs of storks, at the Parc des Oiseaux, a landscaped bird park on the edge of Villars-les-Dombes on the N83. The reserve is a 1.6km walk south of Villars-les-Dombes’ train s
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Galerie
Showcasing 1000 stunning pieces of crystal, many of them custom-made for princes and dictators of former colonies, this flashy museum is at home in its striking new rococo-style premises designed by Philippe Starck in the ritzy 16e. It is also home to an upmarket restaurant called
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Carré d’Art
The striking glass-and-steel building facing the Maison Carrée was designed by British architect Sir Norman Foster. Inside is the municipal library and the Musée d’Art Contemporain , with permanent and temporary exhibitions covering art from the 1960s onwards. The rooftop restauran
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Abbaye de Silvacane
Lying 7km southwest of Cadenet, Abbaye de Silvacane is one of a trio of medieval abbeys built in Provence by Cistercian monks. Constructed between 1175 and 1230, it has all the hallmarks of the Romanesque style, from the unadorned chapel to the peaceful cloister. Today it hosts con
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Ville dHiver
On the tree-covered hillside south of the Ville dÉté, the century-old Ville dHiver (Winter Quarter) has over 300 villas, many decorated with delicate wood tracery, ranging in style from neo-Gothic through to colonial. Its an easy stroll or a short ride up the (free) art deco public
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Le Château de Bazoches
Le Château de Bazoches in Bazoches, sits magnificently on a hillside with views to Vézelay 12km to the north. Built in the 13th century and visited by royalty including Richard the Lionheart, it was acquired by field marshal and military strategist Marquis de Vauban in 1675. It is
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Musée Grévin
This large (and expensive) waxworks inside the passage Jouffroy has some 300 wax figures. They largely look more like caricatures than characters but, still, where else do you get to see Marilyn Monroe, Charles de Gaulle and Spiderman face to face, or the original death masks of so
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Collège des Bernardins
Dating back to 1248, this former Cistercian college originally served as living quarters and place of study for novice monks. Following a decade of renovations, it reopened in 2008 as an art gallery and centre for Christian culture with events ranging from lectures to film screenin
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Basilique Notre Dame du Port
A Unesco World Heritage Site, this magnificent example of 12th-century Auvergnat-Romanesque architecture is sparkling after recent renovations. Its Vierge Noire is venerated with a grand procession in mid-May. For nice views of the apses exterior, climb the signposted steps to the
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Lorraine American Cemetery
Verdun also had a significant military presence from the end of WWII until Charles de Gaulle pulled France out of NATO’s integrated military command in 1966. Surrounded by woodland and set in landscaped grounds, this is the largest US WWII military cemetery in Europe. It’s 45km eas
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Théâtre Romain
Let your imagination run wild at this ancient theatre, designed to hold 16,000 people; try picturing the place filled with cheering (or jeering), toga-clad spectators. From the top look southwest to see the Pierre de Couhard (Rock of Couhard), the 27m-high remains of a Gallo-Roman
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Musée de l’Armée
North of Hôtel des Invalides, in the Cour d’Honneur, is the Musée de l’Armée, which holds the nation’s largest collection on French military history. Sobering wartime footage screens at this army museum, which also has weaponry, flag and medal displays as well as a multimedia area
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