Things to do in France

31 things to do in France

Listed in full below. The running order is set by votes and loads with the page.

• Picnic along the Seine at golden hour

  Bring bread, cheese, fruit, and watch Paris soften as the bridges light up.

  Paris

• Cycle between chateaux in the Loire Valley

  Spend a day moving slowly between gardens, riverside towns, and castle silhouettes.

  Loire Valley

• Eat bouillabaisse near the old port

  Make Marseille a food stop and try the coastal stew where it belongs.

  Marseille

• See Mont Saint-Michel across the tide flats

  Approach the abbey when the light and tide make it feel like an island from a story.

  Normandy

• Walk the lavender fields near Valensole

  Visit in season for rows of purple, bees, sun, and Provençal villages nearby.

  Provence

• Spend a museum evening at the Louvre

  Choose a wing, go slower than planned, and leave before trying to see everything.

  Paris

• Taste oysters in Cancale

  Eat them beside the water with lemon, bread, and a view toward the bay.

  Brittany

• Ride the train into Chamonix

  Arrive under the Mont Blanc massif and let the alpine scale do the introduction.

  Chamonix

• Climb the dune at Pilat

  Walk up Europe's huge sand dune for forest on one side and Atlantic water on the other.

  Arcachon Bay

• Have a late dinner in Lyon's old town

  Make the bouchon meal the main event and walk the traboules before or after.

  Lyon

• Ascend the Eiffel Tower at dusk

  Climb to the top of Paris’s iconic iron lattice tower just before sunset, when the city lights begin to twinkle across the skyline.

  Paris

• Marvel at the Mona Lisa inside the Louvre Museum

  Stand face-to-face with Leonardo da Vinci’s enigmatic portrait amid the world’s largest art collection, housed in a former royal palace.

  Paris

• Stroll through the Hall of Mirrors at the Palace of Versailles

  Follow in the footsteps of kings through 357 mirrors and gilded galleries, then lose yourself in the vast formal gardens.

  Versailles

• Taste grand cru wines in Saint-Émilion

  Sip merlot and cabernet franc in the medieval village, then tour underground monolithic cellars that date back centuries.

  Saint-Émilion, Bordeaux

• Walk Omaha Beach and visit the Normandy American Cemetery

  Step onto the sands of the D-Day landings and pay respects at the bluff-top cemetery overlooking the coast.

  Colleville-sur-Mer, Normandy

• Soar to Aiguille du Midi by cable car

  Ride the vertiginous lift to 3,842 metres for a face-to-face panorama of Mont Blanc’s icy peaks and the Vallée Blanche.

  Chamonix

• Cycle along Nice’s Promenade des Anglais

  Pedal the palm-fringed seafront avenue, with the azure Baie des Anges on one side and Belle-Époque façades on the other.

  Nice

• Cruise the turquoise inlets of the Calanques National Park

  Board a boat from Cassis to slip into narrow limestone fjords with emerald waters, hidden beaches and towering cliffs.

  Cassis / Marseille

• Sip mulled wine at Strasbourg’s Christmas market

  Warm your hands on a cup of vin chaud as you browse hundreds of wooden chalets decked in lights around the cathedral square.

  Strasbourg

• Walk the ramparts of Carcassonne

  Step into a medieval fairy tale within the double-walled citadel, a UNESCO site with 52 towers and drawbridges.

  Carcassonne

• Admire Château de Chenonceau over the River Cher

  Visit the elegant ‘Ladies’ Castle’ whose arched gallery spans the water, surrounded by Renaissance gardens and woodland.

  Chenonceaux, Loire Valley

• Feast in a traditional Lyon bouchon

  Tuck into quenelles, andouillette and praline tart in a snug, red-checked restaurant that defines Lyonnaise gastronomy.

  Lyon

• Kayak the Gorges du Verdon

  Paddle through Europe’s deepest canyon, where the Verdon River glows turquoise beneath 700-metre limestone walls.

  Verdon Gorge, Provence

• Watch the Moulin Rouge can-can

  See the feathers fly in the legendary Montmartre cabaret, still a temple of French glitz and Parisian nightlife.

  Paris

• Browse the Marché Forville in Cannes

  Sample socca and tapenade amid stalls piled high with sun-ripened produce, just a few steps from the Croisette.

  Cannes

• Pay respects at Père Lachaise Cemetery

  Wander cobblestone paths to the tombs of Oscar Wilde, Jim Morrison and Édith Piaf in Paris’s most atmospheric necropolis.

  Paris

• Summit Mont Blanc with a mountain guide

  Tackle Western Europe’s highest peak on a two-day guided climb, traversing glaciers and rocky ridges to the 4,808-metre roof.

  Chamonix

• Visit the Juno Beach Centre

  Honour the Canadian D-Day landings at this museum and preserved bunker on the sand where troops came ashore.

  Courseulles-sur-Mer, Normandy

• Drive the Alsace Wine Route through Riquewihr

  Wind past half-timbered houses and vine-striped hills, stopping to taste world-class Rieslings in a storybook village.

  Riquewihr, Alsace

• Join the flower parade at the Carnival of Nice

  Watch giant floats and costumed dancers fill the Promenade des Anglais with mimosa blossoms and confetti cannon.

  Nice

• Glide along the Canal du Midi by boat

  Drift under plane-tree arches on this 17th-century engineering marvel, passing locks and sleepy villages en route to the Mediterranean.

  Homps, Languedoc