Normandy

First time France: where to go and what to do

France is the world’s top tourist destination and for good reason. There's a lot packed into just one country – artistic and architectural masterpieces, remarkable museums and natural landscapes, and a history harking back far beyond the Romans. Top it off with fine wine, food and a culinary culture that permeates through every city and small town, and the only hard part is deciding where to go first.

France’s chic, sexy capital has to be experienced at least once. Mix picture-postcard icons with simple Parisian moments and you'll truly fall in love with the city. Scale the Eiffel Tower then walk or cycle along the Seine, or cruise down it on a bateau-mouche (bateaux-mouches.fr). Venerate Notre Dame then grab a post-cathedral café at Café Saint-Régis, ice-cream at Berthillon or super juice at literary café of mythical bookshop Shakespeare & Company. Hit the Louvre then collapse on a bench with a Pierre Hermé macaron in the Tuileries or Palais Royal gardens. Delve into hilltop Montmartre with a local Paris Greeter (greeters.paris). Escape to posh leafy Versailles and come back blown away by France’s most famous chateau.

Flanders fields and beyond: France's essential WWI sites

During the First World War, the Western Front became a byword for mud, misery and suffering. From 1914 to 1918, hundreds of thousands of men on both sides were killed in a series of near-suicidal offensives in the area north of Amiens, but the situation on the ground remained deadlocked. Today, visitors gather to reflect at a series of moving memorials marking the sites of major battles, including the bloody Battle of the Somme (1916), the Battle of Verdun (1916) and the American advance of 1918 that finally brought an end to the war.

Delicacies of Normandy

Two ingredients sum up Norman cuisine: salted butter and soft cheese. You'll often see dishes served à la normande in Normandy, which basically means they'll be served with a sauce made with butter, cream or cheese (sometimes even a combination of all three). This excerpt from Lonely Planet's Brittany and Normandy guide takes you through the delicious highlights of Normandy.

1. Camembert — A good Camembert should have a white rind with a sprinkling of reddish spots, and the taste should be strong and fruity.