Known as “La Ville aux Trois Clochers”, the City with Three Steeples, Cambrai is a pretty, provincial town in the Nord Department. Although there’s no sign of the damage today, Cambrai was caught up in an immense battle in 1917, when tanks were deployed for the first time and a lot of the town was …
Set between Paris and Versailles, Boulogne-Billancourt is a handy compromise for both transport and the price of accommodation. The hotels are packed out at the end of May when Roland-Garros is in full swing, or if the football team PSG are playing a big match at the Parc des Princes. The western arrondissements of Paris …
An ancient spa town still going strong, Dax is in southwest France’s historic Gascony Province. Dax has been known for its hot springs since the Romans, and there’s a fountain in the centre pumping out thousands of litres of hot water each day. The town’s ancient past shows up in all kinds of surprising ways, …
Resting on a natural terrace above Lake Geneva’s southern shore is the spa resort of Thonon-les-Bains. There’s a trusty old funicular railway running up the slope, dropping you at Thonon’s panoramic gardens where it’s a wrench to turn away from the epic lakeside views. Thonon was the capital of the historic province of Chablais, and …
This venerable spa town became fashionable with the rich and famous after Napoleon III took a shine to it in the 1860s. At this time it was dubbed the “Reine des Villes d’Eaux”, “Queen of the Water Towns”. Mountains were moved by Napoleon III’s decree, and in a matter of years there were pavilions, hotels, …
On the coast not far from Coimbra, Figueira da Foz is a resort city with a casino, bars restaurants and an enormous urban beach. It’s a destination for doing as little as possible by day and dining and partying by night. Figueira da Foz has lots of palatial holiday homes, one from the 17th century …
Affluent, green and residential, Saint-Cloud is a western suburb of Paris but isn’t very city-like at all. There’s boundless parkland and golf courses, and the centre of Saint-Cloud is so unhurried it’s been nicknamed “Le Village”. Go exploring and take a peek at the mansions behind gates on leafy, hilly streets, and amble up to …
Developed in one go in the 17th century by Louis XIV’s right-hand man Jean-Baptiste Colbert, Rochefort is a genteel former naval town overflowing with history. Next to the broad Charente river is the Royal Arsenal, which by the King’s decree had to be the largest but also most beautiful dockyard in the world. With foundries, …
West of Nice, Cagnes-sur-Mer is a seaside resort that seduces tourists with its 3.5-kilometre beach and chic new shopping mall, the Polygone Riviera. But there’s also a venerable side to the city, huddled around a medieval château built for the Grimaldis of Monaco. This arty neighbourhood was the haunt of many Impressionists, and one of …
The Provençal harbour town of La Ciotat is bordered by the mighty seascapes of the Calanques National Park. The scenery is out of this world, whether you see it by car on a twisting coastal road or from below on a sea cruise. The town also has a calmer side where there’s a string of …