On the Scarpe River, Douai is a city that has reinvented itself many times. Up to the 1700s it grew rich trading wool, which was packed onto barges along the Scarpe. Then later, under French rule things got more sophisticated as the Parliament of Flanders and the judiciary moved to the city, furnishing Douai with …
Aubagne is a refreshingly un-touristy town a few kilometres from Marseille. But even if it doesn’t show up in many guides there are lots of little things to love about this place. First up is the author and filmmaker Marcel Pagnol who was born in Aubagne. The town and the raw landscapes of the Massif …
On an eastern spur of the Luberon Range, Cavaillon is a mid-sized Provençal town in bucolic countryside. The fertile soils around nourish all kinds of fresh fruit, like the lauded Cavaillon melon. This is how most people in France know the name of the town, and there’s even a festival in July to honour this …
Balancing on a limestone ridge above the River Doubs, Dole is a lovely old city in north of the Jura Range. Holy Roman Emperors and Counts of Burgundy stayed in Dole, and it was under their control under Louis XIV annexed the region in 1678. Dole’s old centre is a confusion of alleyways edged by …
On the coast of Languedoc in southwest France, Agde is a town with two faces. There’s an historic core on the left bank of the Hérault, while Cap d’Agde by the sea is a timeless holiday destination, with beaches and fun for kids and grown-ups. Agde is also a byword for naturism, and naked folk …
The next town around the bay from Cannes is this enticing seaside escape under San Peyre, an extinct volcano. The coast is rocky in Mandelieu-la-Napoule, at the point where the Massif d’Esterel, a strange mountain range of red rock descends to the Mediterranean. For the drive of a lifetime get on the Corniche d’Or, which …
In Northern Central France, Dreux is just over an hour west of Paris on the boundary with Normandy. Although it’s a smallish town there’s a lot to see, like the burial chapel of the noble House of Orléans and an ornately sculpted belfry dating to the 1500s. Dreux has a peculiar mix of museums too, …
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, …