The French have given the world crème brûlée and camembert, Jean Paul Sartre and Claude Debussy, the Tour de France and Notre Dame. And if they have such a refined sense of national pride, who are we to point the finger? Although the prevalence of jeans and hamburgers annoys purists, any experience on French soil, from a year spent in Provence to a weekend in Paris, will make you understand why half the world dreams of strolling along the wide boulevards or picnicking in the parks and enjoying the flow of everyday life from café terraces. Whether you are in Paris or in the Pyrenees, on the Côte d'Azur or in an auberge de jeunesse, remember above all to keep the romantic joie de vivre all French!

Travel in France: not just Paris. From Normandy to the Côte d'Azur and the Overseas Territories, when to go and what to visit on your discovery tour of the République

Of all the major European states, France is the oldest and, considering its departments and the Overseas Territories of America, Asia and Oceania, the largest, after Russia. This long and picturesque history of unity has left deep traces (artistic, folkloric and culinary) in the country, making it unique in the world for its variety as well as an indispensable reference point for Western culture. The same variety can be found in the landscapes, which change radically from north to south: the vineyards of Champagne and Burgundy, the romantic countryside of Provence, the mild climate of the Côte d'Azur, with its famous beaches, haunts of the international jet set, the emerald sea of Corsica, the wild beauty of Brittany, the castles of the Loire and hundreds of other villages and towns that reserve continuous surprises for the tourist.

France is a land to be discovered on several occasions, with targeted trips or perhaps by following instinct and lesser-known itineraries.

Places to visit in France

Paris

Whether you poetically call it Ville Lumière or, more informally, Paname (due to the spread of the Panama hat among Parisians at the beginning of the 20th century), Paris is universally considered one of the most fascinating and seductive cities in the world. To discover the capital of the République, one can start from its symbol, the Eiffel Tower, built for the 1889 Universal Exhibition. Equipped with lifts and stairs (there are 1792 steps to climb), the tower is divided into three levels and offers a 360-degree view of the entire city.

Panoramic views can also be enjoyed from the Arc de Triomphe erected in 1806 on Place de l'Étoile at the behest of Emperor Napoleon who wanted to celebrate his military victories in this way. From up here, you can also admire, in the distance, the modern 'cousin' of the Arc de Triomphe: the Grande Arche de la Fraternité, inaugurated in 1989 - the bicentenary of the French Revolution - in the La Défense district, and consecrated to humanity and humanitarian ideals.

The Grande Arche is located - albeit slightly shifted - on the extension of the Axe Historique, also known as the Voie Triomphale, which you can walk along to visit some of the city's must-see sights. Proceeding from Place de l'Étoile along the triumphal Avenue des Champs-Élysées with its rows of plane trees and glittering shops and cafés, you arrive at Place de la Concorde, famous for being the scene of executions by guillotine during the French Revolution and the years of the Terror (Louis XVI was beheaded here in 1793 and Maximilien de Robespierre in 1794). Les Jardins des Tuileries also overlook the square, also along the Historic Axis: created by Catherine de Medici in the 16th century, they surrounded the Tuileries Palace. The latter was destroyed during the French Revolution and the gardens became a public park as they are today. Under Napoleon, the gardens were modified at the behest of the Emperor, who also had another arch erected in them to celebrate his victories: the Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel, also located on the Axe Historique, now links the Tuileries gardens with the Louvre gardens. And it was from the Louvre that the Voie Triomphale originally started: from the point where the glass pyramid, commissioned by President Mitterand, which has served as the museum's atrium since 1988, stands today.

The walk can continue along Rue de Rivoli to turn from here towards the famous Pont Neuf, the oldest of the 37 bridges that allow you to cross from one bank of the Seine to the other. Crossing it, one arrives at the Île de la Cité, the city's historic core that houses the Sainte Chapelle, a masterpiece of French Gothic architecture, and the Notre-Dame Cathedral, which was damaged by a fire on 15 April 2019 that destroyed and collapsed the roof and spire.

But the beauty of Paris is not only hidden behind the walls of its palaces and cathedrals. It will be exciting, for the traveller who doesn't like to follow overly touristy itineraries, to get lost in the different Parisian neighbourhoods, each with its own well-defined features and distinctive character. Among the most interesting are: Bagnolet, in the 20th arrondissement, a melting pot district inhabited by Turks, Lebanese and French people, where the smells of hookahs and spices mingle with the aromas of bread and local cheeses; the Latin Quarter, frequented by students and professors at the Sorbonne, with its many bookshops; and the Marais, on the right bank of the Seine, a former Jewish quarter and now the centre of Parisian gay and fashion life.

Paris: what to see and do

On the outskirts of Paris, a visit to the Palace of Versailles and at least one day at Disneyland Paris, the large tourist complex with a double amusement park dedicated to the Disney world, are not to be missed.

Lyon

The third most populous city in France after Paris and Marseille, Lyon stands on the confluence of the Rhone and Saône rivers and is composed of a historic centre (Vieux-Lyon, Fourvière, Saint Jean), declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and the new, more commercial city. In Vieux-Lyon during the Renaissance, silk guilds were established and offices and houses were built that still constitute an extraordinary urban complex today. This area is also home to the Cathedral of St Jean, inside which you can admire the astronomical clock: located in the left arm, every day at 12 noon, 2, 3 and 4 p.m. the clock strikes the hours with a hymn to St John the Baptist, to whom the Cathedral is dedicated. Today, the beating heart of Lyon is the Prequ'île, where the Lyonnais meet for coffee, shopping or to visit the Musée des Beaux-Arts, which overlooks the Place des Terreaux, a granite-paved square embellished with 14 pillars and 64 water jets.

Not only Paris: here are the 20 most beautiful cities in France and their treasures to visit

Loire Valley

The Loire Valley is a paradise for castle enthusiasts: it is here that some of the most beautiful castles in the world can be found, the Château d'Amboise, for instance, once the seat of the Royal Court; the Château de Chaumont and the Château de Chenonceau, which reflects its extraordinary Renaissance architecture on the banks of the Cher.

Loire Castles, charming tours in the garden of France

Normandy

Normandy takes a couple of hours' drive from Paris. It is the gastronomic enclave where the most famous chefs try their hand in the kitchens of charming restaurants. From a tourist point of view, the region is known for its cathedrals, abbeys and castles (Rouen, Évreux, Caen, Coutances, Lisieux, Jumièges, Les Andelys), but also for the places where the Allies landed during World War II (the famous beaches, museums and military cemeteries scattered along the coast, such as Arromanches, located on the seafront, with its Landing Museum).

Not to be missed in the region is the Abbey of Mont Saint-Michel. A Unesco World Heritage Site, the abbey can be reached on foot at low tide but remains isolated when the sea rises. The building stands on the so-called Archangel Michael line, which, according to legend, represents the stroke of the sword with which the Archangel drove out the devil, banishing him forever to hell. Along this line there are six abbeys in the world: Skelling Michael, in Ireland, St Michael's Mount, in Cornwall (considered twin to the Norman one, because it is located on an island subject to the tides), the Sacra di San Michele, in Val Susa, in Piedmont, the Sanctuary of St Michael the Archangel, on the Gargano, in Apulia, the Sanctuary of St Michael on the island of Symi in Greece and the Monastery of Mount Carmel, in Israel.

St Michael: three special sanctuaries. And a mystery...

Brittany

Remaining in the north, Brittany is worth a visit, with its fairytale landscapes, fishermen's cottages, the sea where you can surf and Nantes, considered the most liveable city in France, with its architecture designed by Le Corbusier and Jean Nouvel, castles and former shipyards transformed into urban parks.

Alsace

It only became French at the end of the First World War, and today little Alsace, which lies on the border with Germany, is one of the most interesting regions to visit. Not only for Strasbourg, where the Parliament and the Council of Europe have their seats and where in December - in the best German tradition - important and crowded Christmas markets are organised, but for the whole region that encompasses both French and German culture and offers unique experiences, also from a gastronomic point of view.

Alsace, the Wine and Food Trail: tours of nature, history and taste

Burgundy

A trip to Burgundy is also a must for wine lovers. Not only to taste Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, but also to visit the famous 'clos', dry stone walls, built in the Middle Ages, that surround and protect the 'climats', plots cultivated with vines, whose particular conditions (exposure, soil composition) characterise the wines. A cultural heritage and a unique territory that was included in the UNESCO list in July 2015.

Visits to wineries are also planned if you come to Champagne, where it is easy to organise a vineyard tour. Here, however, you must also see Reims Cathedral, a masterpiece of Gothic art in which the kings of France were crowned, from Hugh Capet in 987 to Charles X, the last king of France, in 1825. Curiosity: the coat of the last sovereign is now preserved, together with other unique pieces from the various coronations, in the adjacent Tau Palace, the former residence of the archbishops, which houses the treasures of the cathedral.

Midi

The 'Midi' (the South) of France deserves a trip of its own: Occitania, Camargue, Provence and the Côte d'Azur, very different from each other but all equally fascinating with their own peculiarities. Of the former, situated at the foot of the Pyrenees, the serene and relaxed life reminiscent of the Italian provinces is to be savoured. Nîmes, on the other hand, was in Roman times one of the most flourishing cities in Gaul and even today the amphitheatre, the Maison Carrè and the remains of the temple of Diana bear witness to its ancient splendour. You can still breathe in the medieval atmosphere, however, in nearby Carcassonne, a fortified city with an imposing wall punctuated with 52 towers, in which the film Robin Hood the Prince of Thieves with Kevin Costner, released in 1991, was filmed.

In Provence, on the paths of Land Art: installations, exhibitions and museums not to be missed

In the Camargue, however, one appreciates nature above all: located between the two arms of the Rhône delta, it is home to more than 400 species of birds, including pink flamingos that enchant tourists with their beautiful plumage, and a special breed of horse, the Camargue. The largest town is Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer, the destination of the annual pilgrimages of the Roma people who venerate Saint Sara, but the best known to tourists is the medieval fortified town of Aigues-Mortes. At the northern end of the delta, at the main fork of the Rhone, is Arles, the 'gateway' to Provence. Although it was the provincial capital of the Roman Empire and even today performances and concerts are staged in the amphitheatre, Arles is best known for being home to Vincent Van Gogh. In the city, everything speaks of the Dutch painter, and although the famous yellow house in the painting is now lilac, the starry sky above the Rhone has remained identical to that immortalised by the artist and can be admired as much as the sunflower fields outside the city.

Aigues-Mortes, France: the most beautiful pink salt marsh in the Mediterranean in aerial shots by an Italian photographer

The most important cities in Provence are Aix-en-Provence, the refined and elegant ville française, where the painter Paul Cézanne was born, whose atelier can be visited today, Avignon, the city of the Popes, and Marseille, France's second largest city. Life in Aix-en-Provence revolves around the Cours Mirabeau, a wide tree-lined boulevard halfway between the new town and the old centre. A very important student centre, Aix should be visited on foot to admire the historic Hôtel particulier, photograph the beautiful fountains that adorn the town and stop to buy Calissons d'Aix, almond paste sweets typical of the area.

Since Clement V, forced to flee Rome, took refuge in Avignon in 1305, the small Provençal town became the City of the Popes. The Palace of the Popes is still a must-see destination for visitors to the city. As is the Pont d'Avignon (the same as in the most famous children's song), which is now a Unesco World Heritage Site but is half-destroyed: only four arches remain, whereas originally it consisted of 22 arches and was 900 metres long. In July, Avignon hosts a major theatre festival that 'invades' the city for three weeks.

Lively, multi-ethnic, cosmopolitan and avant-garde, Marseille, which was the European Capital of Culture in 2013 and got a makeover, is one of the most fascinating cities in Europe. Its symbols are the Notre Dame de La Garde Basilica, which stands out on the hill as if to protect it and greet the sailors, and the Vieux Port, now completely renovated. But also absolutely must-see is the MuCEM, Museum of European and Mediterranean Civilisations, which, inside its pearl-grey net-like structure, houses temporary exhibitions and a permanent collection related to the culture and artistic production of the Mediterranean peoples. In front of Marseille stands the Chateau d'If, the fortress castle used as a prison in which Dumas had his Edmond Dantès locked up in the novel The Count of Monte Cristo. The castle has not been a prison since 1915 and can now be visited via a shuttle service connected to the Vieux Port.

When one speaks of the Côte d'Azur, one's thoughts fly to Saint Tropez and Brigitte Bardot's scandalous (for the time) bikinis, to Cannes and the Film Festival that enlivens the city every year in May, or to Nice with its Promenade des Anglais and its chaises bleus (blue chairs), where one can sit and admire the sea. But the Côte is full of little-known gems to mass tourism: by the sea, such as Porquerolles, a naturalistic jewel of the Iles de Hyères, and inland, where Grasse is worth a visit, for the International Perfumery Museum, unique in the world.

Cannes: inauguration of the Mediterranean's first underwater (and sustainable) museum

Corsica

The third largest island in the Mediterranean, Napoleon's homeland has a territory as varied and sometimes impervious as the personality, according to some, of its inhabitants. But it is this splendid mosaic of landscapes, also made up of mountain lakes, gorges carved into the granite walls of the mountains, and expanses of greenery, that is the main attraction of the island, endowed with an extraordinary natural heritage protected by reserves and a marine park.

Travel Guide: Corsica

Overseas Territories

Overseas France refers to areas that are part of the French Republic but lie outside the European continent. They are divided into departments, regions and collectivities and are territories that were part of the French colonial empire. They are located on the American continent, in Oceania, Africa and Antarctica: the latter is uninhabited, but French Polynesia, Saint Barthélemy and Saint Martin, in the French Antilles, the island of Reunion and Nouvelle Calédonie are popular with elite tourism.