An enchanting medieval city, Bourges was the capital of the historic Province of Berry and a centre of trade in the 15th and 16th centuries. The old town is replete with luxurious mansions built for merchants, side-by-side with top-heavy half-timbered houses. The cathedral is an absolute wonder and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, looking like …
Couched in a valley between mountain ranges in the Prealps, Chambéry is a historic city that was once the capital of its own sovereign state. The old centre is a confusion of alleys and dim passageways, ruled by the Château from which the Dukes of Savoy commanded a large tranche of central Europe. The architecture, …
A down-to-earth port city, Sète was planned and built in one go in the 1660s as the Mediterranean terminus of the ambitious Canal du Midi. The city still gets a lot of maritime traffic and is etched with waterways, which are fine for walks or cruises. A roll-call of cherished French artists, poets and musicians, …
Balanced on a rocky ridge above the Charente River, Angoulême is a stone-built city made all the more beautiful by its vertiginous slopes. The old walls that once barricaded the upper town were pulled down in the 1700s to form terrace paths and boulevards blessed with distant views of the Charente and the Anguinne Valleys. …
In the south of Normandy’s Orne department, Alençon is a genteel town on the River Sarthe that many people will already know for its lace-making. In fact the town is often described as the “queen of lace”, and the trade here has won UNESCO recognition as “intangible cultural heritage”. You can investigate this side to …
On the southern verge of the Ardennes, Charleville-Mézières is a town with two different stories.Charleville was built in one go in the 1600s under the orders of Charles Gonzaga, the Duke of Nevers. There’s something satisfying about the symmetry of the princely monuments, squares and streets. Mézières on the other hand is much older, and …
A town with culinary pedigree, Montélimar has been the home of French nougat since the 1700s. This soft confectionery is made both in big modern factories and small ateliers using old-school techniques and tools. You can indulge your curiosity and your sweet tooth on tours where you’ll get privileged glimpses into kitchens and will be …
Standing at Place Général-de-Gaulle in Évreux you’ll be in no doubt that you’re in a departmental capital: The buildings here, from the Maison des Arts and town hall to the 15th-century belfry all radiate authority. The same can be said of Évreux’s marvellous Gothic cathedral, a seat of clerical power in medieval times and joined …
This industrial city in eastern-central France isn’t on the map for many tourists. For most of its life Saint-Étienne has been a hotbed of mining and manufacturing, but is now reinventing itself as a hub for the arts: The Manufacture-Plaine-Achille is a whole district of former factories turned over to the creative industries. You can …
In the northwest of Reunion, La Possession is between the main harbour at Le Port and Saint-Denis, the capital. Your attention will be turned to the island’s forest trails, and you can walk to colonial-era quarantine stations or make the tough expedition to the colossal Mafate volcanic cirque. But one of special things about Reunion’s …