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Rocher de la Vierge
If the swells big, you might get a drenching as you cross the twee, toy-town like footbridge at the end of Pointe Atalaye to Rocher de la Vierge, named after its white statue of the Virgin and child. Views from this impressive outcrop extend to the mountains of the Spanish Basque C
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Tour Tanguy
A sobering reminder of what Brest looked like on the eve of WWII can be seen at this 14th-century tower. Other exhibits on the towns history include the documented visit of three Siamese ambassadors in 1686, who presented gifts to the court of Louis XIV; rue de Siam was named in th
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Chartreuse du Val de Bénédiction
Shaded from summers heat, the three cloisters, 24 cells, church, chapels and nook-and-cranny gardens of the Chartreuse du Val de Bénédiction make up Frances biggest Carthusian monastery, founded in 1352 by Pope Innocent VI, who was buried here 10 years later in an elaborate mausole
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Baptistère St
Constructed in the 4th and 6th centuries on Roman foundations, Baptistère St-Jean, 100m south of Cathédrale St-Pierrel, was redecorated in the 10th century and used as a parish church. The octagonal hole under the frescos was used for total-immersion baptisms, practised until the 7
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Musée National Fernand Léger
This museum presents a thorough overview of Fernand Léger’s work and life: his brush with cubism, his ongoing interest in architecture, society and cinema, and the influence of his stays in America. The free audioguide (which can also be downloaded as an app) is an essential compan
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Place du Vieux Marché
This is where 19-year-old Joan of Arc was executed for heresy in 1431. Dedicated in 1979, thrillingly modernist Église Jeanne d’Arc , with its fish-scale exterior, stands on the spot where Joan was burned at the stake. The church’s soaring interior is lit by some marvellous 16th-ce
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Palais du Luxembourg
At the northern end of the Jardin du Luxembourg, the Palais du Luxembourg was built in the 1620s for Marie de Médici, Henri IV’s consort, to assuage her longing for the Pitti Palace in Florence. Since 1958, the palace has been home to the Sénat (French Senate). It’s occasionally vi
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Château de Chalucet
Five kilometres southeast of Solignac are the moody ruins of the Château de Chalucet, a 12th-century keep occupied by the English during the Hundred Years War. The spot, along a pretty little brook with forested hills and tweeting birds, makes a fine picnic stop, with valley views
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Verrerie de Biot
The famous Verrerie de Biot is at the foot of Biot village. Its bubbled glass is produced by rolling molten glass into baking soda; bubbles from the chemical reaction are then trapped by a second layer of glass. You can watch skilled glass-blowers at work and browse the adjacent ar
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Musée de la Chasse et de la Nature
The Hunting and Nature Museum, inside the delightful Hôtel Guénégaud (1651), is positively crammed with weapons, paintings, sculpture and objets d’art related to hunting and, of course, lots and lots of trophies (horns, antlers, heads). Particularly appealing are its nature- themed
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Musée Alpin
This engaging museum richly illustrates Chamonix long history of Alpine adventure, including the cliffhanging feats of crystal-hunter Jacques Balmat and the first ascent of Mont Blanc by a woman (Marie Paradis, a local maidservant, in 1808). Ask at the ticket counter for printed in
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Musée Lumière
Cinemas glorious beginnings are showcased at the art-nouveau home of Antoine Lumière, who moved to Lyon with sons Auguste and Louis in 1870. The brothers shot the first reels of the worlds first motion picture, La Sortie des Usines Lumières (Exit of the Lumières Factories ) here on
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Cathédrale de Monaco
An adoring crowd continually shuffles past Prince Rainier’s and Princess Grace’s flower-adorned graves, located inside the cathedral choir of Monacos 1875 Romanesque-Byzantine cathedral. The Monaco boys’ choir, Les Petits Chanteurs de Monaco , sings Sunday Mass at 10.30am between S
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Le Thot
In an effort to bring the prehistoric age to life, Le Thot, 8km southwest of Montignac, places reproduced Lascaux cave scenes alongside displays about Cro-Magnon life and art, as well as real-life descendants of the animals the art depicts (reindeer, stags, ibex and European bison)
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Le Cachot
In 1857 Bernadette Soubirous’ family fell on hard times and the family was forced to move to this dingy prison, where they lived communally in a room measuring just 16 sq m. It was while living here that Bernadette stumbled across the Grotte de Massabielle, having been sent out to
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Partage des Eaux
A country lane runs riverside from the old town 2km east towards the serene partage des eaux (parting of the waters), where the Sorgue splits into the channels that surround the town. Its a perfect spot for idling on grassy banks, skipping stones and watching birds. Waterside cafes
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Château de Murol
About 10km east of Le Mont-Dore, the 12th-century Château de Murol squats on a knoll above the surrounding village. Book ahead for medieval guided tours (up to five daily in summer), when costumed guides, scullery maids and jesters re-create daily life in the castle and knights jou
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Palais Gallien
It was Celtic tribes who first established Bordeaux, but it wasnt until about 200 years later, under the rule of the Romans, that the town started to blossom. Back then it was called Burdigala; today the only remains of Burdigala are the crumbling ruins of the 3rd-century amphithea
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Tour de la Chaîne
To protect the harbour at night in times of war, an enormous chain was raised between the two 14th-century stone towers at the harbour entrance to La Rochelle, giving rise to the name Tour de la Chaîne (Chain Tower). There are superb views from the top and a whizz-bang exhibit abou
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Sémaphore de Camarat
Pampelonne stretches for 9km from Cap du Pinet to Cap Camarat , a rocky cape dominated by France’s second-tallest lighthouse (110m), operational since 1861, electrified in 1946 and automated from 1977. Scale it for giddy views of St-Tropez and the peninsula. Book tours at Ramatuell
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