Between abbeys set on the sea, villages perched above gorges and ancient aqueducts, some places sum up centuries of French history and know-how on their own.
This selection gathers essentials, as well known to the French as to foreign visitors, which appear without fail on every list of the finest sites in the country.
A dense programme mixing built heritage, characterful villages and great natural sites, to be spread over several trips rather than a single weekend.
On a rocky islet in the middle of immense sands subject to the coming and going of powerful tides, on the border between Normandy and Brittany, rise the "Wonder of the West", a Gothic Benedictine abbey dedicated to the archangel Saint Michael, and the village born in the shelter of its walls.
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This village is largely classified as a historic monument. It stretches along a main street cut by picturesque, very flowery little lanes, carriérous or stairs linking houses.
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The Pont du Gard was built shortly before the Christian era to let the Nîmes aqueduct, nearly 50 km long, cross the Gardon.
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A little Catalan port of colourful houses nestled in a cove of the Vermilion Coast, immortalised by Matisse and the Fauvist painters in the early twentieth century.
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Their construction began in 1144, at the instigation of the bishopric of Aleth moving its seat to the rock, the layout of the place allowing better defence.
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Located in the centre of Alsace, between the two other major industrial centres of Strasbourg and Mulhouse, Colmar is an essential stop.
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Nicknamed the "Venice of the Alps" for its canals lined with colourful houses, this Savoyard prefecture overlooks the clear waters of its lake.
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The ski area of the Chamonix valley is divided into four areas: Les Grands Montets, Brévent/Flégère, Domaine de Balme and Les Houches.
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The Calanques massif, at the gates of Marseille, offers a postcard landscape.
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The cliffs of Étretat are an exceptional natural site where the spectacle of cliffs cut into arches, needles and pinnacles will take your breath away.
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