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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 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 …
In Burgundy on the navigable River Yonne, Auxerre is an inland port with a lovable old town and solemn churches that power above the skyline. Those old religious buildings are …
In Aquitaine’s Lot-et-Garonne Department, Agen is a conventional town that doesn’t concern itself much with tourism. But that isn’t to say there’s nothing to see or do. The Fine Arts …
Starting out as a humble royal hunting lodge for the Forest of Compiègne, this cultured town quickly came into fashion in the 1800s when it won the approval of Napoleon …
A Provençal town climbing the stiff slope of the Colline du Castéou, Hyères is almost anything you want to it be. For summer fun like watersports and lazing by the …