La Rochelle
The gateway to the old city, Tour de la Grosse Horloge is a steadfast Gothic-style clock tower with a 12th-century base and 18th-century top.
Must-see attractions in France
Côte d'Azur
This lighthouse is off-limits to the public, but makes a convenient landmark as you walk around the southern tip of the Cap Ferrat peninsula.
Cahors
Displays include works by the Cahors-born pointillist painter Henri Martin (1893–1972). It is closed for renovation through at least 2019.
Golfe du Morbihan
Grande Plage is a long, family-friendly and attractive, sheltered sweep of sand; bathing spots towards the peninsula's tip are less crowded.
Nancy
Forming part of the place Stanislas ensemble, the grand 18th-century Hôtel de Ville spreads across the entire southern flank of the square.
Cathédrale Notre-Dame-de-la-Treille
Lille
Construction on Lille's neoclassical cathedral began in 1854 but its western façade, built from white marble, wasn't completed until 1999.
Biarritz
The neo-Gothic Église Ste-Eugénie was built in 1864 for – who else? – Empress Eugénie, and sits on a prominent spot in the old port.
Gorges du Verdon
A fairytale castle in the village of Allemagne-en-Provence, an easy drive from Lac de Quinson. It's about 24km west of Moustiers St-Marie.
The Dordogne
Ornate gardens and 15th-century moat and battlements surround this grandly furnished 16th-century château, 6km southwest of Montignac.
Carcassonne
The main gateway to the Cité Médiévale, Porte Narbonnaise leads into the citadel’s interior.
Yonne
The 12th-century cellar of Petit Pontigny (viewable from the exterior only) was once used by Pontigny's Cistercian monks to ferment wine.
Yonne
Flanked by colourful half-timbered buildings, Auxerre's town hall forms the centrepiece of the medieval centre's most attractive square.
Toulouse
This 19th-century brick tower once pumped out fresh water, but since the 1970s it's been a venue for contemporary photography displays.
Sète
Sète was the childhood home of singer and poet Georges Brassens (1921–81), whose mellow voice still speaks at this multimedia space.
Troyes
One of the founders of the Canadian city of Montréal, Paul Chomeday de Maisonneuve (1612–76), once lived in the Hôtel du Chaudron.
Biarritz
A long, exposed beach popular with surfers and walkers, said to be one of the first where boardriders hit the waves around Biarritz.
Perpignan
The 14th-century La Loge de Mer, rebuilt during the Renaissance, was once Perpignan’s stock exchange, then its maritime tribunal.
Avignon
Porte St-Lazare is one of the entryways to Avignon's Unesco-registered walled city, located on the northeastern edge of the walls.
The Dordogne
Interactive displays trace the history and stories of Cro-Magnon people; there is a small rock shelter accessible above the site.
Avignon
Porte Magnanen is one of the entryways to Avignon's Unesco-registered walled city, located on the southeastern edge of the walls.
The Luberon
The 11th-century Ancienne Cathédrale Ste-Anne houses the relics of St Anne, and 11th- and 12th-century illuminated manuscripts.
Alsace
Standing proud above the centre of Ribeauvillé, across from 64 Grand’Rue, this town hall is fronted by a Renaissance fountain.
Îles de Lérins
Climb to the top of this platform on the island's south shore for long views of the coastline and the Mediterranean to the south.
Avignon
Porte Limbert is one of the entryways to Avignon's Unesco-registered walled city, located on the southeastern edge of the walls.
Orléans
Depicting St Joan atop a prancing steed, this huge bronze statue (1855) by Denis Foyatier is in the centre of place du Martroi.
Touraine
This impressive, 17th-century town house has a double-horseshoe staircase you can see from the street through a carved gateway.
Yonne
Marked by Gothic architectural elements, this church between the river and the medieval centre is a prominent Auxerre landmark.
Côte d’Opale
This 13th-century gate, modified in the 17th and 19th centuries, is at the northeastern end of the Haute-Ville's rue de Lille.
St-Malo
This long and pleasant beach by the marina in St-Servan has a dike that prevents the water from receding entirely at low tide.
Honfleur
The magnificent Lieutenance, standing at the mouth of the old harbour, was once the residence of the town’s royal governor.
Caen
The Jardin des Simples is a garden of medicinal and aromatic herbs cultivated during the Middle Ages, some of them poisonous.
The Dordogne
Inside the 17th-century Maison Peyrarède, the displays span 3000 years of history and include a collection of ornate pipes.
Vaucluse
The village church contains the pride of the Pays de Venasque: an unusual late-Gothic Crucifixion painting (1498).
Tours
Built from 1896 to 1904, Tours' monumental city hall was designed to project both republican values and municipal prestige.
Normandy
Two blocks west of the port, this Norman Gothic church has been reconstructed several times since the early 13th century.
Tours
One of the last vestiges of Tours' 13th-century, Romanesque Basilique St-Martin.
Limoges
The moody late-Gothic Église St-Pierre du Queyroix is notable for its characteristic Limousin belfry and stained glass.
Jardins du Château d'Hauterive
Auvergne
Amble in 7 hectares of manicured gardens next to this romantic 17th-century chateau, 2km southwest of central Issoire.
The Lot
The belfry and accompanying turret of this simple 16th-century church, dedicated to Saint Cyr, rise above the village.
Languedoc-Roussillon
The Musée de l'Étang de Thau has aquarium tanks, sepia photos, vintage fishing equipment and models of the lagoon.
